Hot Ideas & Hot Air

Many of my clients have been in business for YEARS - some as many as 20 years - and before they hired me, they’ve never put together a marketing plan.  I know why they didn’t have a marketing plan.  Here’s what I’ve seen:

1.  Small Business Marketing Plans can seem like an academic exercise.  They just take too much time to create, and involve to many meetings.  Entrepreneurs like ACTION.  Sitting down and doing strategic planning works against their strengths of being nimble, decisive, and fast-paced.  But as your small business GROWS beyond just a couple of people, you need a way to SHARE your vision with others.  A marketing plan ensures you are taking the RIGHT actions.

2.  Small Business Marketing Plans can feel restrictive, like a budget that’s making you live within your means.  But just like knowing you have money in the bank to pay your bills, knowing that you have the budget and resources to execute your marketing plans is incredibly freeing!  Your marketing team doesn’t have to go “begging” for every marketing expenditure.  This frees up time for the small business owner and gives responsibility and accountability to the marketing team. 

3.  Small Business Marketing Plans are subject to change.  Yep.  And they should - to a degree - but one essential component should be consistent.  That essential component is your core differentiators.  WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT?  Answer that question, articulate it clearly, and the work is halfway done.  How you communicate your core difference to the world - your “great ideas” need company-wide buy-in to be executed for maximum effectiveness.  Getting the whole team on the same page is a great reason to put together a marketing plan.  Don’t hide your marketing plan.  Hand it to every employee!

And now you have no excuses!  Just this week, John Jantsch and Duct Tape Marketing, announced the launch of a brand-new Marketing Plan Pro powered by Duct Tape Marketing.  With Marketing Plan Pro, small business marketing plans can be created in as little as 30-minutes.  Everyone has 30 minutes - and you can grow the marketing plan from there.

Anyone who knows me knows I love software, gadgets, and tools that make my job easier. That includes Marketing Plan Pro. I include it in all of my Tornado Marketing Whirlwind Marketing Planning Engagements. That’s where I spend 8-sessions developing a comprehensive small business marketing plan using Duct Tape Marketing’s Ultimate Marketing System AND Palo Alto’s Marketing Plan Pro.  

Right now, I’m accepting new clients, so if you are ready to recession proof your business, call me or email me about kicking off a Small Business Marketing Plan.  I’m here to help!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Requirements of every small business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.