The Marketing Plan is a valuable road map in helping companies and organizations succeed in achieving their business goals. Marketing planning is an ongoing business activity not just a page in the business plan.
Objectives of Marketing Planning

• Get all personnel working toward the achievement of common goals.
• Develop an understanding of the organization’s competitive position and opportunities.
• Establish a master plan to achieve business goals though marketing strategies and tactics.

In order to create a marketing plan that is a truly useful tool, it is important to give careful consideration to a number of topics relevant to your specific company and market. Connection Group has developed marketing planning guides for small, medium and large companies.
Marketing planning guides include:

1. Business Descriptions
2. Products and Services Details
3. Target Market Identification
4. Competition Review
5. SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)
6. Business Goals
7. Current Situation in the Industry (potential market)

Clear identification of this information helps to determine where a companies’ marketing efforts and budget should be focused. Instead of blowing your entire annual marketing budget on a Super bowl ad in Sunday’s game, a more strategic plan could keep you in front of your target audience with more frequency and less money!
Another example is the number of inquiries from customers about setting up online advertising, specifically Google Adwords. Typically these inquiries are from existing customers who have hired us to design company websites, logos and / or print marketing items. In the same way dedicating your full marketing and advertising budget on a Super Bowl ad may not be the best approach, Google Adwords may not be the first step for some companies to begin their marketing and advertising efforts.
Adwords offers a variety of products that can provide valuable online exposure but many companies just aren’t ready before they do a complete evaluation of current brand and marketing channels. One of our first questions to these customers is what they want their internet advertising to achieve:

• increase brand exposure
• increase website visits
• increase online sales
• increase offline sales
• increase readers/members/customers
• build database

Based on the answer different strategies can be applied. Additional work may be required prior to running the ads, or in some cases another advertising medium or marketing tactic may be a better fit for their product, service or budget. When customers complete the marketing planning guide Connection Group can develop a comprehensive marketing plan that will identify where and how marketing efforts and budgets are best allocated.
Marketing plans can be developed at any time during the year but starting at the beginning of a calendar year is best if that is when your fiscal year begins. If you are interested in having Connection Group put together a marketing plan for your company for 2014, or if you have any questions, please give us a call today.