Marketing doesn’t need to be hard. Forget having to sweat over producing a 10-page marketing document that you will never refer to again, instead grab a coffee and a piece of A$ paper and take the opportunity to create a one-page marketing plan that will enable you to clarify your marketing goals, market and message. Then pin it on the wall and refer to it daily. You’ll be amazed what a difference that piece of paper can make.
Guide to completing your marketing plan
Positioning – trying to be everything to everyone is not just hard, it’s ineffective. Simplify your marketing efforts by creating your ideal customer and creating all your communications with them in mind.
# 1. Create your target client:
Create a persona to represent your target market. (If you work in an industry, this will be the decision maker, otherwise you can select the type of client you prefer to work with, which can be informed by what service/s you prefer to provide).
You need to get inside this person’s head so all your marketing speaks to them.
My ideal client is (name), she is (age), and works as (occupation), she is (married/single) and has (no children/children). (Name) lives in (location) and is (class). She drives a (type of car) and prefers to holiday in (location/type of holiday). Her interests are (interests).
Importantly, the things that keep her up at night or that cause her pain or frustration that my business can assist with are (including deeper desires or frustrations that she doesn’t voice openly):
1.
2.
3.
4.
I will focus my marketing messaging on these two pain points:
1.
#2. Branding
Unique features
What benefits does your business provide that makes it stand out from the rest? (People don’t buy your products or services, they are buying the end benefits. For eg. They don’t wake up in the morning wanting to talk to a tax agent, they want to relieve the frustration and stress they feel when trying to sort their own finances.) This process is even more impactful if you can boil down the benefits of your product or service to an emotion, like freedom.
1.
2.
Visuals and bundling
Can you package or bundle your offerings in a way that stands out from your competition? Can you add value by offering a time-based program, for example a three-month coaching package? Can you add bonuses that are low cost for you but high value for your clients such as downloads, a membership website or private Facebook page, or a enewsletters?
1.
2.
# 4 Select a marketing strategy
Where can you easily find your target client? Is there a physical location where you could grab their attention, for example the noticeboard at the gym, or are they active online? Think of your persona and where they are likely to notice your messaging.
My ideal client can be found:
1.
2.
3.
Then pick two key marketing strategies and try them for at least 90 days. Key options include:
Online:
Google Ad words
Facebook page and advertising
LinkedIn profile and active posts
Landing pages offering items of value in exchange for an opt in
Email marketing
Enewsletters
Offline:
Generating positive publicity
Direct mail
Strategic partnerships
Now you are ready to complete your One Page Marketing Plan:
My one-page marketing plan
Valid to ____________________ (revise every 90 days)
#1. Positioning
My ideal client is (name) ____________ she is (age) _____, and works as a (occupation) __________________, she is (married/single) and has (no children/children). (Name)_________ lives in (location)___________ and is (class)__________. She drives a (type of car) _____________and prefers to holiday in (location/type of holiday)____________. Her interests are (interests)_____________________________________________.
Importantly, the things that keep her up at night or that cause her pain or frustration that my business can assist with are (including deeper desires or frustrations that she doesn’t voice openly):
1.
2.
3.
4.
I will focus my marketing messaging on these two pain points:
1.
#2. Branding
Unique features/benefits/emotions provided by my business are:
1.
2.
Visuals/bundling ideas
1.
2.
#3. Marketing strategy
My ideal client can be found:
1.
2.
The two key marketing strategies I will trial for at least 90 days are:
1.
2.
Example Plan
Acme Gardening Business marketing plan
Valid to 1/5/17
#1. Positioning
My ideal client is Suzanne, she is 55, and works as a government project worker, she is divorced and has adult children who no longer live at home. Suzanne lives within 15km of my business base, in Northcote, and is comfortably middle class. She drives a Getz and prefers to holiday in Australia and Asia, often doing yoga retreats with her girlfriends. Her interests are yoga, reading, catching up for coffee with friends.
Suzanne:
- Likes the idea of having a great garden but struggles to find the time to care for it.
- Is frustrated by buying plants that don’t thrive.
- Is worried about allowing strangers access to her garden.
- Is concerned she won’t be able to afford professional help.
I will focus my marketing messaging on these two pain points:
- No time to look after the garden.
- Fears of stranger in the yard.
#2. Branding
Unique features/benefits/emotions provided by my business are:
- Specialise in low-maintenance gardens.
- All staff fully insured, with police checks, hold formal qualifications and can boast testimonials from happy clients.
Visuals/bundling ideas
- Image of staff member mowing whilst older woman chats holding coffee (emphasising friendly staff who are not to be feared).
- Garden audit – providing feedback on current design and plantings with recommendations for improvement. (Clear pricing to allay fears).
#3. Marketing strategy
My ideal client can be found:
- Local to my business.
- Online.
The two key marketing strategies I will trial for at least 90 days are:
- Letterbox drop of flyers in local area, including local coffee shops.
- I’ll try geotargeted Facebook ads using Suzanne’s demographic to hone in on my ideal clients.
Frequently asked questions:
What if I have more than one ideal client?
That’s no problem, most businesses have more than one ideal client: a tax firm may have individual, small business and corporate clients for example. Try and simplify each ‘category’ of client down to a single persona and specialise your marketing efforts for each. For example, the homepage of your website could immediately identify these categories for visitors to click on – they are then taken to the pages that deal specifically with their concerns.
Alternatively, you may wish to separate the business areas further so you can create more targeted marketing. For instance a company like General Electric offers a range of diverse products and they all have their own websites and marketing rather than having one corporate site to market the lot.
However, if you only have one type of service, and no marketing plan for anyone as yet, start small with one key persona and you can build from there. Don’t let a desire to tick every box stop you from doing anything.
Need some help?
Contact Kate Robertson at Icebreaker Communications on 0401 170 932 or email kate@icebreakercommunications.com
Happy Marketing…