Your marketing plan can be as short or as long as you want. The key thing is that you are aware of the market environment around you and you review it along the way.

Think of the marketing plan as a route map. We decide where we are, where we want to be and how we are going to get there.

And whereas we used to have to stop the vehicle to look at the map and review our progress, before continuing the journey, we now have a whole host of digital tools which can provide directions in real time. However, it's still vitally important to re-assess along the way, so that you don't get lost and you just might decide to take a different route at an earlier stage.  

Your plan may focus on the company as a whole, or individual product or service sectors. Let's review some of the key stages that apply.   

A dynamic marketing planning process should be as follows:

• Revisit your corporate objectives - where does the company want to be? 

• Research your marketplace & audit your own business - where are you now? This requires objective facts and figures.

• Set clear and realistic marketing objectives - how are you going to get there? 

• Develop your marketing plan - strategic, tactical, budgeted, resourced & timed

• Communicate your plan internally - it's a team effort

• Measure, control & review - marketing success comes from anticipating and responding quickly, not merely reacting.

And so it goes round again.... 

Four Key Marketing Strategies:

Whilst there is a wealth of analysis tools available to feed into a marketing plan, it may help to consider four key strategies, which could form part of your marketing objectives. The Ansoff Matrix is a key tool which can be applied to all manner of businesses and covers:
 

1. Market penetration - selling established products into established markets; do your current customers know about your full product range, or can they recommend you?  

2. Market extension - selling established products into new markets; maybe you can cross over into other sectors, or even consider export?

3. Product development - selling new products into established markets; are your existing customers interested in trying new lines/services?

4. Diversification - selling new products into new markets; the riskiest of all strategies, but you could be carving out new territory.

What is right for you will depend upon the results of your market and customer audit, including resources and the realistic objectives that you set. 

Since all businesses have specific requirements, this article should be used for background guidance only and should not be interpreted as one to one, personal business advice. For this reason, no liability can be accepted by Freelance Marketing Ltd. 
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