marketing planning for smes
TRANSCRIPT
MARKETING PLANNING FOR SMEs
A model for success
CONSULTING * PLANNING * ACTIVATION
INSPIRED THINKING
SME
Introduc@on to marke@ng for SME’s
1. Where is my business now?
2. Where do I want it to be? 3. How do I get it there?
4. What ac<vity will get it there?
5. Who’s doing what & when?
6. How do I stay in control & make informed decisions?
Success is in the planning This deck is designed to help you create successful plans
• Star@ng a business is a big step and good planning will protect your brand and help you spend your marke@ng budget wisely
• Don’t jump in & make costly
decisions on websites, design or printed materials un@l you have created a plan
• This deck will help you create a marke@ng plan to answer these 6 ques@ons……………….
GeTng started
1. Situa@on Analysis 2. Objec@ves
3. Strategy
4. Tac@cs
5. Ac@ons
6. Control
Use the 6 easy step SOSTAC plan to create a brand and marke@ng plan to help your SME grow
Is there a need or demand for your idea? Are you crea@ng something new? Is there a clear market opportunity?
Where is the business now?
• Is there a gap in the market for your idea?
• Are there compe@tors? What are they doing? What is different or unique about your idea?
• Where will you get it made & how
will it be distributed • How much are people prepared to
pay and can you make a profit?
• Road test your idea with people who are in your target audience
• Do your research & talk to as many people in the industry
• Find out where your audience hangs out online
• Where will you sell your product
• Have you got a brand?
SITUATION
Set objec@ves you can measure to be sure you’re spending your budget wisely
Where do you want it to be?
• What are the brand objec@ves?
• What are your marke@ng objec@ves? -‐ Increase social media fans -‐ Lead genera@on -‐ Direct website orders
• What are your sales objec@ves? -‐ Distribu@on in retailers -‐ No. of units -‐ Margin %
Set objec<ves for all marke<ng ac<vity to determine what works
Be SMART Specific – with numbers Measurable – monitor performance Ac@onable – Can you do it Reasonable – Is it realis@c Timed – Can you do it within your @melines
OBJECTIVES
Answer: A. Define your audience
How do you get there?
• Who are they? What do they do? What do they like? What are their preferences? What do they buy? Where do they hang out? What do they earn? The list goes on…
• Why will they be interested in your
product? What gap does it fill? How does it make them feel? Why will they buy it? Why would they buy it again?
STRATEGY
• Organise your target audience into different groups based on this informa@on.
• Create personas to help you understand your different audiences beaerhap://knowledge.hubspot.com/contacts-‐user-‐guide/how-‐to-‐create-‐personas
• Work out how to create an emo@onal &
psychological connec@on with your audience
Answer: B. Create a brand
How do you get there?
• Build a brand NOT just a product or service
• Brands are difficult to copy & there’s huge equity in those who make it big
• People buy a brand for lots of reasons -‐ How it makes them feel -‐ How it makes them look -‐ The benefits -‐ The promise -‐ What it stands for
Use this model to work out your brand …… It’s harder than you think………
STRATEGY
Answer: C. Define clear messages & tone of voice
How do you get there?
• Be clear about your market posi@on
• Have clear messages to reinforce benefits and audience needs
• Use languages and highlight things you know will resonate with your audience
Sense check this meets your business objec<ves And that you can make the desired claims
• Highlight the quali@es and added value of your brand’s proposi@on or marke@ng deals
• Tweak your messages for different target audiences where necessary
STRATEGY
What types of marke@ng ac@vity do you use? What is cost effec@ve and delivers results?
What ac@vity will get it there?
• By now you know; -‐ Your audience -‐ The opportunity -‐ Your unique brand benefits -‐ Brand messages
• Select the right marke@ng channels to reach your audience
• If you’ve done your research you’ll know
where your audience gets informa@on & where to spend your budget
• Map each £ you spend to specific outcomes
so they can be measured
TACTICS
Learn new skills to find and engage audiences
What ac@vity will get it there?
• Get the basics right; -‐ Website -‐ SEO -‐ Google analy@cs -‐ Social media
• Learn how to use social media & create a blog to release content
• Make it easy for customers to find your business
• Provide transparent & authen@c content to support your brand stories
TACTICS
Be disciplined and decisive
Who’s doing what and when
• Priori@se ac@ons & ac@vi@es
• Allocate tasks based on experience &
capabili@es
• Do a budget & keep track of what’s being spent & what return you’re geTng
• Focus on your strengths and don’t try
and take everything on yourself
• Get to know other small businesses in your area and work together
Know when to outsource to experts.
ACTION
Monitor your ac@vity and progress to determine decisions
Stay in control
• Marke@ng is an ongoing process
• Review your metrics to see if you’re mee@ng your objec@ves
• be afraid to abandon underperforming channels
• Take calculated risks & try new things
• Stay abreast of market changes and audience preferences
• Join communi@es within your markets to share informa@on
CONTROL
Helpful links
Marke@ng resources for SMEs
hap://www.websitebuildertop10.com/ hap://www.sage.co.uk/business-‐advice/business-‐growth/social-‐media-‐small-‐business-‐guide.html hap://www.constantcontact.com/ haps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSxA7M6snBE haps://find.icaew.com/pages/bas haps://econsultancy.com/blog/62574-‐introducing-‐the-‐modern-‐marke@ng-‐manifesto/ hap://www.luvtribe.com/ www.startuploans.co.uk
Help to create a brand, plan your marke@ng or reach new customers
Want to know more
SME Marke@ng [email protected] 07703 744446