WEB INSIGHTS
DEVELOPING A MARKETING PLAN FOR 2002

By Marc Kramer
"Web Sight"
marc@kramercommunications.com

I can’t believe that 2001 is almost over. It seems like yesterday that everyone was concerned with managing high growth and concerns about the breakdown of computers as the new millennium changed. Now we are preparing for 2002.

If you haven’t begun planning your marketing strategy for next year, now is an excellent time to get your creative juices going and map out a strategy. A marketing plan should focus on the following elements:

• Target Customer - Over the past decade, I have worked with approximately 100 companies. I would say 30 to 50% of my clients wasted a lot of money and effort not honing down the best industries to sell their products to. You want to market to people who must have, not would like to have, your product/service in order to increase sales or reduce costs. Focus on the industries with the widest margins and biggest budgets for your product/service.
• Target Check Writer - Focus on getting your message to the person who writes the checks. I can’t tell you how much time I have wasted on people who said they love my service, but need to convince someone above them that what I have to offer is needed.
• Best Tactics to Reach Customer and Check Writer - There are over 30 different marketing tactics one can use from direct mail to newsletters to broadcast advertising to seminars. The key is to know which one is most effective with your audience. I have found that surveying buyers is the best way to find out how to reach them.
• Budget - Develop a budget and determine how much you can afford to spend. Knowing what industries and level of check writers and the best way to reach those groups will drive your budget.
• Execution Plan - Develop a spreadsheet listing all of the activities and who in your organization is responsible for each activity. If you are under $10 million in revenue, I suggest outsourcing marketing and having the person report to the CEO of the company. Small companies typically don’t have marketing budgets large enough to justify a full time person, which costs, with benefits, office space and equipment, approximately $40,000 for someone with little or no experience right out of college.

Regardless if you want to handle your own marketing or outsource to a professional, I advise reading the following books to enhance your understanding and knowledge of marketing.

• "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" by Al Ried & Jack Trout, published by Harper Business. This is a must read book. It’s only 132 pages and you can read it in the time it takes to fly from Philadelphia to Florida. The authors, who are experienced marketers, provide common sense approach and examples to understanding what mistakes to avoid to be a successful marketer.
• "The Marketing Plan" by William M. Luther, published by Amacom. The author walks the reader through the steps of developing a marketing plan and explains many of the tools and tactics a company needs to consider creating visibility and branding awareness.
• "Entrepreneurial Marketing" by Leonard Lodish, Howard Lee Morgan and Amy Kallianpur, pubished by John Wiley & Sons. I was a little disappointed in this book because I know one of the writers personally and another by reputation. What I liked was that they provided advice and examples on how to market products and services, where most books focus on products. The downside of this book is it comes off my like a text book and is draining to read.
• "Off-the –Wall Marketing Ideas" by Nancy Michaels and Debbie Karpowicz, published by Adams Media. This is a great book for startup and small companies. They provide a lot of interesting ideas. One idea I particularly liked was Civic Marketing. Civic Marketing is picking non-profit organizations to support whose constituents could be potential clients and whose values mirror yours. Good for business and good for the community.
• "The Infinite Asset" by Sam Hill & Chris Lederer, published by Harvard Business School Press. The book is more slanted towards Fortune 1000 companies. Regardless of size, the author warns company leadership to be careful how thin they spread their brand or when they should use their brand name. He gives of Holiday Inn having two types of hotels under their brand. One higher and one lower priced. Many potential business guests were confused with the direction Holiday Inn was taking and wondered if Holiday Inn was focusing on price conscious travelers as oppose to business travelers.

Finally, remember focus on companies that must have your product and don’t assume you know how to reach your buyer. Either talk to potential buyers or have an outsider interview potential buyer to find out what would be the most effective way of marketing to them.