How to build a basic marketing plan in 5 easy-ish steps.
As the year draws to a close, the digital airwaves will become saturated with buzz about the latest marketing trends, cutting-edge tools, and visionary strategies. It's an exciting time, no doubt, but amid the noise, it's all too easy to feel overwhelmed.
The truth is, not every shiny new trend or tool is the right fit for every business, and not every strategy aligns with your unique goals.
So, as we approach the dawn of a new year, we invite you to embark on a journey of marketing with a twist—a journey that prioritizes purpose over trends.
The way to do this is by creating a marketing plan that's rooted in your business's individual needs and aspirations, allowing you to cut through the clutter and navigate the marketing maze with clarity and confidence.
Good luck is the result of good planning.
If you’re like most business owners I’ve known throughout my career, the thought of planning anything makes you want to do floor angels.
Honestly, I get it. You already have 15 million things vying for your time and attention. Urgent, time-sensitive, actionable things. So I’m not surprised that the thought of carving out half a day to do what feels like a thought exercise sounds like a giant, overwhelming time-suck.
The thing is, if you skip this vital step and jump right into tactics, odds are you’re going waste your time and money—two things that I bet are in short supply—because you’re going to make snap decisions influenced by:
The panic that naturally comes with a dip in sales.
Flash-in-the-pan marketing trends that have nothing to do with your business model.
Opinionated (and possibly, misdirected) staff, family members, or friends, and
Persuasive webinar hosts trying to tempt you with “today only” sales.
On the other hand, a well-defined marketing plan that takes into account your specific situation, goals, and budget will enable you to:
Notice patterns that predict how and why your customers buy.
Determine if the marketing you’ve done in the past actually worked.
Find new ways to market that are more likely to offer a higher rate of return.
Ignore trends that are not in alignment with your business’s brand and goals.
Put an end to marketing efforts that haven’t been working.
Basically, a marketing plan is a strategic compass. It guides your efforts and helps to ensure that your time and money are spent effectively along the way, earning you the highest possible return on your investment.
So, grab your notepad and get ready to dive into the world of marketing planning. By the end of this blog post, you'll have the knowledge and tools to construct a marketing plan that not only steers your business in the right direction but also helps you stay on course for long-term growth and success.
The 5 easy-ish* steps.
The good news is that putting together a basic marketing plan doesn’t have to be an insurmountable task—it’s really just figuring out where you want to go and making a to-do list of how you’re going to get there. As is often the case, the hardest part is getting started.
So, to make this process as easy-to-start as possible, we’ve outlined the five main steps any company should take, regardless of their business or industry, to create a basic marketing plan that’s sure to see results.
STEP 1: Think about your situation.
Yep, just think about it. This can be as straightforward as writing down how your business performed last year, comparing it to how it performed this year, and what happened and/or what you did that influenced the changes you see between this year and last.
WHY: A solid understanding of your business’s past and present helps you avoid repeating the same mistakes. Plus, it helps you to make realistic goals and informed decisions in the future.
STEP 2: Identify clear goals and objectives.
After analyzing where your business has been, identify where you’d like to go by answering the question, “What do I want my marketing plan to achieve? By when?”
Then follow those goals up with clear objectives. Meaning, figure out what mini-goals must be achieved to reach your bigger goal.
For example, if your goal is to increase sales by 20% within the next 12 months, three objectives might be:
Increase website traffic by 30%.
Grow the company’s social media following by 25%.
Increase customer retention by 15%.
WHY: By thinking it through, you’ll be able to see if your vision is reasonable and attainable. This will help you avoid spending your time and money on goals that, in hindsight, were too aggressive or involved more work to achieve them than you had realized.
STEP 3: Set a budget.
To put the goals and objectives you identified in step two into action, you’re likely going to need to spend some money. But how much money will depend on, one, the ambitiousness of your goals, and two, the size of your business.
To calculate your marketing budget, first ask yourself, “How much money am I willing to spend to get what I want?” Then, see if it’s realistic, considering your current financial situation. You can do this by figuring out how much money your business is, on average, bringing in each month and how much is going out, then subtracting the latter from the former:
Revenue – Expenses = Money Available to Spend on Marketing
If the difference between these two amounts is less than the amount you said you’re willing to commit, consider if it’s possible to temporarily reduce any of your current expenses to make room for your upcoming marketing efforts.
WHY: By choosing a budget in advance, you’re making sure you’ll have enough money to last you throughout the year. A budget also makes you less likely to go down a rabbit hole and impulsively buy something you don’t need because it sounds like a good deal or because you think it’s going to be the next new trend.
STEP 4: Outline your strategy.
Now it’s time to decide what actions you will take to
Achieve the goals and objectives you set in step two,
Within the budget you calculated in step three,
That takes into consideration the past and present efforts you thought about in step one.
Don’t just think about it, write it down.
Continuing with the example provided in step two, here’s what your marketing strategy might look like:
GOAL: Increase annual sales by 20%.
TIMEFRAME: 1/1/24-12/31/24
BUDGET: $6,000 (Avg. $500 per month)
Increase website traffic by 30%: $3,500
Optimize website content for search engines (on-site SEO).
Post one blog each month (content marketing).
Launch a Google Ads campaign (paid advertising).
Grow the company’s social media following by 25%: $2,000
Post engaging content at least per week (content marketing).
Run ads on Instagram and LinkedIn (paid advertising).
Collaborate with social media influencers.
Increase customer retention by 15%: $500
Start a customer loyalty program.
Provide exceptional post-purchase support.
WHY: Putting your strategy down on paper is beneficial for several reasons:
For one, it makes it easier for you to break big ideas into smaller, manageable parts. By breaking them down, you gain a more complete picture of what’s actually involved in achieving your objectives and notice when your goals aren’t realistic.
The written document serves as a tangible reminder of what you, in sound mind, decided needs to be done to achieve your goals. This helps you stay focused and on track as shiny new ideas inevitably come your way.
Lastly, when you write down your strategy, it becomes a tangible record of your intentions. This act demonstrates your commitment to a particular task or obligation, making it more real and concrete—and you more likely to achieve it.
STEP 5: Get an outside perspective.
At this point, all that’s left to do is share your plan with each person involved in implementing it (or if it’s just you, then, someone who knows you well), and ask for their feedback.
WHY: By getting an outside perspective, you’re more likely to create a plan that is realistic, considering the timeframe and budget. It can also help you foresee challenges or opportunities that you may have otherwise overlooked.
If your plan is dependent on the actions of others, opening the lines of communication early increases the chances that everyone involved is on the same page—and will be rowing in the same direction—from the start. Plus, including them and asking for their input in the planning process makes them more likely to be personally invested in seeing the plan through to success.
BONUS: Monitor your progress.
Once your action items have been identified, establish a way to track and measure how well they’re working “at a glance.” Then use these metrics to measure and monitor your progress.
WHY: Knowing in real time what’s working and what isn’t (with the data to back it up) will enable you to quickly decide if you should pull the plug or, better yet, up the voltage.
Put it into action.
Whitespace Consulting offers a free downloadable marketing plan worksheet and a progress monitoring template, designed to guide you through the marketing planning process and help you stay on track as you implement your strategy and start to see results.
How we can help.
Sometimes adding one more thing to your plate, no matter how easy it is, is literally an impossibility. Don’t worry! We are here to help!
Click HERE to schedule a free 30-minute consultation with one of Whitespace’s marketing experts to learn how we can create for your business a robust marketing plan that aligns with your goals and vision.
*Whitespace Consulting values honesty and transparency regarding the commitment and effort required for a task because it sets realistic expectations for success. This guide is labeled “easy-ish” since the steps are easy to execute, but the intricate thought processes and decision-making that underpin them are far from simple.
