Once you have looked at the marketing plan that is closest to your business you can either copy it and then start making changes or you can design your own marketing plan.
Designing a marketing plan is easier than ever! Use the latest technology to design a great marketing plan. Incorporate the award-winning Duct Tape Marketing System by John Jantsch to create effective small-business marketing. Identify your ideal customers and create concrete action steps to attract, sell to, and keep them. Choose the level of detail you want, and get step-by-step guidance for each task. Powerful forecasting tools help you project and track your revenue, budgets and milestones for each program. Include your own graphics, automatically develop full-color, 3D charts, and create Microsoft Excel-like and compatible financials. Leading experts agree – Marketing Plan Pro is the best software available for writing a marketing plan. Learn more about Marketing Plan Pro.
Marketing Plan Example
Here’s a sample marketing plan that happens to be from the accounting industry. This is the outline. You can find details of this sample marketing plan here. After you follow the link, just click on the orange bar that says “Free Marketing Plans” and scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find sample marketing plans from Accounting Firms to Women’s Shoe Stores.
1.0 Executive Summary

2.0 Situation Analysis

2.1 Market Needs
2.2 The Market
2.2.1 Market Demographics
2.2.2 Market Trends
2.2.3 Market Growth
2.2.4 Macroenvironment

2.3 The Company

2.3.1 Mission
2.3.2 Service Offering
2.3.3 Positioning
2.3.4 SWOT Summary

2.3.4.1 Strengths
2.3.4.2 Weaknesses
2.3.4.3 Opportunities
2.3.4.4 Threats

2.3.5 Historical Results

2.4 Competition

2.4.1 Direct Competition
2.4.2 Indirect Competition

3.0 Marketing Strategy
3.1 Value Proposition
3.2 Critical Issues
3.3 Financial Objectives
3.4 Marketing Objectives
3.5 Target Market Strategy

3.6 Messaging

3.6.1 Branding

3.7 Strategy Pyramids

4.0 Marketing Mix

4.1 Product Marketing
4.2 Pricing
4.3 Promotion

4.3.1 Advertising
4.3.2 Public Relations
4.3.3 Direct Marketing

4.4 Web Plan

4.4.1 Website Goals
4.4.2 Website Marketing Strategy
4.4.3 Development Requirements

4.5 Service
4.6 Implementation Schedule
4.7 Sales Plan

4.7.1 Sales Strategy
4.7.2 Sales Process

5.0 Financials
5.1 Break-even Analysis
5.2 Sales Forecast

5.2.1 Sales by Partner
5.2.2 Sales by Segment

5.3 Expense Forecast

5.3.1 Expense by Partner
5.3.2 Expense by Segment
5.3.3 Expense by Specialization

5.4 Linking Expenses to Strategy andTactics
5.5 Contribution Margin

6.0 Controls
6.1 Implementation
6.2 Keys to Success
6.3 Market Research
6.4 Contingency Planning
6.5 CRM Plans

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The 8 Steps To Starting Your Own Online Marketing of Information Business

Now is NOT the time to sit around in your business holding on to your wallets and sitting frozen on what to do next. It’s time to TAKE ACTION! No, I’m not suggesting you have to spend a lot of money either, although if you’re really struggling or unsure of what to do, hiring a coach like me of course would be well worth the investment.

What I want you to look at though is your current business model. Is it the same as it was 5 years ago (or more!)? If so, I would suggest you look at some opportunities and possibilities that are all around you to TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL.

If you are just starting out in business then pay particular attention because this online marketing of information business model is working for tens of thousands of entrepreneurs all over the world. There are billions of dollars being made online RIGHT NOW even in this economy.

People are still spending money. If the ones you’re talking to are not spending then it’s simple—you either need to talk to different people or create a product or service that people ARE BUYING right now.

It can be that simple.

• No, you don’t have to know a lot about computers to do online marketing.
• No, you don’t have to know how to design a website or blog to do online marketing.
• No, you don’t need to travel all over the place meeting people to do online marketing.

You can do this from your home with a computer. You want to surround yourself with people and mentors to support you in building, growing and maintaining this business because when it’s up and running and you’re marketing it effectively you will be able to work from anywhere in the world you want. The business literally can run itself with a little bit of automation and systematization set up.

When I changed my entire business model to this online marketing model I immediately got back 50 hours per week that I was spending working on all my clients’ work or busywork. I now spend that extra time developing new products and services, marketing, thinking bigger, building relationships, coaching with my coaches and mastermind group and traveling to events or networking locally to fill my funnel.

Most business owners that run traditional businesses without this type of online marketing model don’t have the time in the day, week or even each month to be doing such tasks. You may not have time to work your business like you need to really see it grow and to make more money!

So, where do you start?

Step 1–Brainstorm and Research

Something you’re passionate about but also will make money.

Meet with other people or a coach that is doing this type of business and throw some ideas around. Determine if there’s a market for what you come up with and how the business will make a profit too; these things are often overlooked. Many people follow their passions first; they start marketing or branding without even testing to see if anyone wants to buy what they’re offering or if they can even turn a good profit.

Now IS THE TIME to take action in your business. It’s time to think bigger, dream bigger, make bigger goals and take bigger leaps of faith in order to truly get the business and life of your dreams.

Step 2–Choosing the Right Business Model

That fits your Lifestyle

What do you do exactly? Do you have memberships? Are you product focused? Are you service focused? Do you do live events? How about affiliate marketing, or teleclass series? How about ecourses and more?

I’m talking about leveraging your expertise, knowledge, systems, services, information, etc. into products and services you can create one time and then sell over and over again via the internet.

If you’re already marketing information online you still may want to pay attention because I can almost guarantee that you will be negligent in one, two or even maybe three of the steps I plan to cover. Changing these things in your business could generate tens of thousands of dollars in your pocket if you tweak a few things.

We know millions of people are still spending money. The question is how do you get a piece of that pie?

Well, Step 2 in this process is Choosing the Right Business Model.

For example, if you love to speak to groups, teach, educate and lead workshops, yet your #1 goal is to be at home with your two little kids each day after school and on weekends, it would be very important NOT to start a business where you will spend time over the weekends out of town or conducting workshops, retreats and live events, right?

Instead you might choose a model where more phone and internet interaction is present or where you write curriculum that you can email out or teach over a webinar rather than live.

Here are some examples of online marketing of information business models:

• Running online memberships – interactive or not, they can include many features and benefits but the goal here is teaching 1 to many instead of 1 to 1 to leverage your time.
• Product focused websites – this can be good if you have a lot of great information “that people want” and “are searching for” (That is the key. It’s one thing to think your information is important and great but it’s another thing to actually make sure people want it.)
• Service based websites and companies – you can work with customers 1 on 1 or 1 to many in a teleclass or webinar series (live or recorded), or in ecourses (automated).
• Hosting live events – either small groups and retreats or really large seminars with multiple speakers. These can be big money makers in various ways.
• Affiliate marketing – you can promote everyone else’s great products and services and make money doing it!
• You can do a combination of these things too; I do them all!

Now, granted you can’t just plop a web page up or a blog and think people will come and buy right away. You still have to set up systems, your support team, build a responsive list and manage ongoing marketing campaigns. There is more to do but the first thing you want to do is think about the type of model that will best fit your lifestyle AND will help you provide your gifts. (Note from Tom—there’s a great Business Ideas Goal Setting Form that you can download in pdf form and use to evaluate whether your potential business model fits the lifestyle you want.)

The goal isn’t always about money and if you don’t do this step before leaping into business, you could end up working yourself into a JOB.

We want you to develop a business model that fits your life, your family but also inspires you and motivates you each day to give and live your purpose, share what you’re passionate about so that others’ lives will be changed for the better. That’s the ultimate goal I would hope for most of you. Now, where the money comes in is setting this business up right from the beginning and not trying to do what needs to be done halfway. The SYSTEMS are the key to you living the life of your dreams with a much easier business model where you don’t have to work so hard.

I’ve done it, hundreds of my friends have done it and you can too. I’d love to show you how!!

Step 3–Develop and Price your Products, Programs and Services

What will you sell? Something tangible or yourself?Well, Step 3 in this process is Figuring Out What to Sell and How to Price It.

So, what will you sell?

• Will you sell yourself and your time? Will you sell hourly, monthly or annual coaching or consulting services, packages or programs?
  • If so, how much will you charge per hour, per month, etc.?
  • Will you definitely charge “what you’re worth” or will you charge less thinking that people won’t pay what you think you are worth? Be careful undercharging or under valuing yourself. I say you charge what you’re worth and then find the people who agree and will pay you that fee.
  • What is included in your services – call in hours, 1 on 1 calls, group Q&A calls, in person meetings, emailing, critiquing, resources?
  • What can you also offer as a bonus to get people to sign up?
• Will you sell your information and expertise? You can put almost anything you know about into an information marketing product these days. Of course you do want to make sure people want what you’re selling so doing surveys and research first is critical.
  • You can write an article, read it on a teleclass for a product, then record it too and you have an audio recording or CD. Transcribe the call and edit with the article and maybe beef up a bit and you have the ebook to go with the CD!
  • Or record yourself talking about a topic, transcribe it and you create the product – it can be that simple.
  • There are numerous other ways to create products to sell – talk to me for more ideas!!
  • So, how much is your expertise worth? Well, look around at other similar products, compare price and content then start somewhere and possibly test out different prices or survey an audience to see what they would spend. Typically for an information marketing product you can charge 10 times the amount it actually costs to produce if you’re selling a hard copy product. If you’re selling a digitally delivered product, you can do it for less and focus on volume sales.
• Will you hold live events, retreats, workshops, seminars or other in person meeting? You can sell those one by one or in a series and if you record those or videotape those then you have a home study kit!
  • Pricing for events is hard to generalize. Some bigger 3+ day events typically go for $3000, others can go for less. It depends on your goals for your event and what else you have to sell at the event too – where else you can make money….
• You can do a combination of these things too; I do them all! But you do typically want to start with ONE thing first, then add to it and so on.

Now, granted you can’t just plop a web page up or a blog and think people will come and buy right away. You still have to set up systems, your support team, build a responsive list and manage ongoing marketing campaigns for any of these things to sell properly.

I’ve done this and taught hundreds of my clients how to do this and you can do it too. I’d love to show you how!!

Now IS THE TIME to take action in your business. It’s time to think bigger, dream bigger, make bigger goals and take bigger leaps of faith in order to truly get the business and life of your dreams.

I help you go from INSPIRATION TO IMPLEMENTATION!! Let’s brainstorm on what’s possible for YOU!

Step 4–All About Logistics

If you figure out what you want to sell and just go out there and try to sell it but you bypass setting up the systems and automating them, then you’re defeating the purpose of doing an online marketing business in the first place. You’ll be running around trying to manage and process the orders manually wasting a bunch of your time and money if you don’t set up the business the right way FIRST. So, what do you need to set up exactly?

• Business Basics
  • You really should consider getting a business license even though you’re selling online
  • You should definitely get a business bank account; don’t mix personal and business funds
  • You may need business cards if you network in person
  • You must have a website and web presence – professionally designed mind you or at least a blog to get you started depending on your type of business! See Tom’s note at the bottom.
  • Start putting everyone you know into a contact database on the computer. Do this right away or pay someone to do it but if you wait it will be way too big of a chore. Start with an Excel spreadsheet if you want, it doesn’t matter in the beginning; you don’t need any fancy software right off the bat.
• Technology
  • Since you’ll be selling online, you’ll want to get a shopping cart hooked up to your website.
  • You’ll need a merchant account company. This can be your bank too but this is the liaison between your shopping cart and your bank account. (I recommend PracticePaySolutions.com as one option. I have others too.)
  • I also recommend signing up for an online data backup system because you never know when your computer might freak out and you don’t want to rely on backing up yourself or it won’t get done! (I recommend Mozy with unlimited backup for $4.95 per month or 2GB Totally Free Online Backup! Compliments of Mozy.)
• Outsourcing
  • I do recommend you hire a bookkeeper as soon as possible to manage your sales and using Quickbooks. It’s much easier starting with one right away so your books don’t get out of hand.
  • I do recommend you hire a Virtual Assistant to handle any of the technology or shipping aspects of running your business right from the start otherwise you will spend too much time on those tasks (web changes, processing orders, fulfillment, blog updates, some social networking, etc.). You never want to do anything (even in the beginning stages) that you don’t like to do, don’t know how to do or that someone else can do much faster or cheaper than you can. Think about what your time is worth.
  • Now, granted there is way more to set up but these are the basics; I’ll get into much more detail in the next step!

Step 5–Setting up Systems

What’s the process? How do you take visitors through your sales funnel? Who is doing what? What is automated through your cart or site? What needs to be done manually?

Step 5 in this process is Setting Up Your Systems. (No, not the sexiest of steps, I know)

If you figure out what you want to sell and you just go out there and try to sell it but you bypass the part about setting up the systems and automation then you’re defeating the purpose of doing an information marketing business in the first place. You’ll be running around trying to manage and process the orders manually wasting a bunch of your time and money if you don’t set up the business the right way FIRST.

So, what do you need to set up exactly?

• What will your processes consist of?
• How will you get new prospects to enter your ‘funnel’ or website?
• What is your sales funnel you want to take prospects through once they’re on your list, to buy your products and services?
• Which parts of this should you automate through your shopping cart?
• Which parts will have to be done manually and who’s going to do what?

This part is CRUCIAL to your success. Think about it this way:

If you do get an opt in box on your website and people sign up for your ezine and free offers, yet you don’t have a plan for where you want to send them next via email autoresponders (that can be prewritten and set up to launch once they sign up) or your ezine call to action….they probably won’t buy anything, right?

People don’t typically take the initiative on your website. People are busy and if you don’t SHOW THEM EXACTLY what you want them to do next, they’ll move on to something else (for the most part).

Yes, you could have a really fabulous website and people could love to read it but if you aren’t funneling them to specific pages on that site where you want them to go to buy a specific product or sign up for a specific teleclass or seminar, they won’t necessarily find their way on their own.

So, setting up the process in which you want to take new visitors through your marketing funnel is really important but 9 times out of 10 I see entrepreneurs missing this step all together.

Either you’re too busy yourself or you think “ok, my website is finally up, whew, I can relax now.” Alternatively you think “I have my ezine running every month or every other week, whew, I can relax now; now the sales will start coming in.”

Nope, that doesn’t happen. You have to ‘MARKET’ your website and what you have to offer. And there are so many ways to market your site.

For setting up systems there are things you need to do such as:

1. Write really compelling copy on your website in the first place (it’s rare that I see good copy these days by the way; get help if you need it – ask me how!)
2. Write really compelling autoresponders, and many of them; all with call to action on the next step
3. Write down the processes for everything you’re doing, from getting a new visitor to your site, who will send out the initial responses to new subscribers or new contacts you meet in person, who will send out the mailed responses to these folks?
   These lists or processes that you write down become your SYSTEMS and once you have written systems, you can delegate them!
4. Think and plan ahead for how a customer will experience your website, the process of buying a product or service, etc. For example, what if your customer buys a product but you forget to send him a thank you page and don’t send him an autoresponder? You could lose the customer or he may want a refund because he’s not confident that you’ll deliver if you aren’t even communicating with him about his order in any way? Plus, your original sale could be higher if you take the opportunity to up sell him right when he’s buying the first thing?

Now, these four things you want to do actually could turn into 400 things quickly depending on how many products or services you offer and what your overall goal is with your website and business!

So, don’t skip this step or you’ll get so far behind the 8-ball so to speak that one year or more into your business you will be lost and overwhelmed by all that has to get done to catch up — so stop and do this now.

Step 6–Hit the Ground Running

This is where you start and what you do to start making money. You should know how you are marketing–referral source or affiliate marketing, database marketing and new biz marketing, online and offline.

This is finally the marketing part of this whole equation.

So where do you start? What do you do?

Well, I like to start with ‘free first, and then pay’ options…how does that sound to you?

I usually recommend marketing options based on 3 different categories or types of marketing. They are:

1. Database Marketing
2. Referral Source Marketing
3. New Business Marketing

The reason I break it down like this is because most small business owners focus most of their efforts in only one area, going after new business, and they forget or choose not to do much to market to their databases or referral sources which are the easiest to go after! Let me explain each and give you some examples.

Your Database Marketing is marketing to everyone and anyone you know….regardless of your relationship. This includes your hair dresser, dentist, neighbors and friends. More than likely everyone you know could be a potential prospect or referral source (but we’ll talk about referral sources separately).

Database Marketing needs to be done via email, mail, phone, visits and fax if you can – the more ways the better! The goal is to be on top of mind with everyone you know (and those you add to your DB too) all the time so if they or someone they know needs your products or services, you are the first person they think of.

Database Marketing can be:

• Sending out bi-weekly or weekly ezines (monthly don’t work)
• Holding regular teleclasses or events they can attend
• Mailings to them often and consistently
• Reminder phone calls and follow up calls
• Networking or speaking at events they can attend

Your Referral Source Marketing is marketing to all those individuals, companies or groups that directly target your target market. They are comparable businesses to yours or big fans of yours that will be most likely to refer business to you. You want to go through your database and build a big list of these people, companies or groups that you can market to. You may even want to do a search via industry to find or connect with more individuals or companies to add to that list and market to.

The marketing messages that you’ll send to Referral Sources will be slightly different than the ones you send to your regular database of prospects and contacts and a lot different than the ones you send to new businesses.

• Referral Source Marketing can be any or all of the above plus:
• Invite referral sources to be guests on your teleclasses or speak at your events (and offer to do the same for them)
• Invite referral sources to use your articles or information in their ezines or websites (and offer to do the same)
• Build an automated online referral program (typically called an Affiliate Program – I have one, check it out online!)
• Send referral sources prewritten email or web copy or mailed materials they can send out to promote your products, services, events or classes (making sure you have a tracking system in place of course)

Your New Business Marketing will consist more of direct marketing to a targeted list of prospects. You can buy a list so you can do a mailing but make sure you’re very clear on the demographics and psychographics of your prospects. Buy only lists that are targeted.

• In addition to mailings for New Business Marketing there are many other ways to reach potential prospects. Here are a few:
• Social networking is one of the most popular these days – there are hundreds of sites and places to find prospects online but you can get sucked in and spend a ton of time so watch out!
• Finding blogs and forums online where your target market congregates and post on them often; answer and ask questions.
• Speak at events where your target market attends
• Run ads or give articles to people who send out ezines to their lists who are also your target market

Most of all however, for all types of marketing, the goal should be to get them into your mailing and email database so that you can continue to market to them. You’ve got to build relationships with them over time; that’s the most effective way to market to anyone. People will do business with people they like, trust and connect with so make it easy for them to do business with you and refer their friends to you too!

Now, if you want more specific examples, steps and samples of ways to do all this then you really want to pick up a copy of my Ultimate Marketing Follow Up System where I lay out everything you need to do to market in all three of these areas. I give you the steps and the implementation cheat sheets on how to do this, what to say, when to send information, how to send it and even how to delegate it all so that you can concentrate on getting MORE prospects into your contact list.

This follow up and marketing tasks and other jobs can be delegated BUT you have to have the easy and proven SYSTEM that you can pass off and delegate!

Step 7–Ongoing Marketing

In step 6 I went into great detail on the 3 different categories or types of marketing as I like to explain them:

1. Database Marketing
2. Referral Source Marketing
3. New Business Marketing

The reason I break it down like this is because most small business owners focus most of their efforts in only one area, going after new business, and they forget or choose not to do much to market to their databases or referral sources which are the easiest to go after!

Therefore, the ongoing marketing is when you continually mail, email, visit or call everyone on your list. It’s fine to have an ezine (email newsletter) but you have to have MORE than that. Not everyone is going to open or read your ezine every week/month so you have to do other things.

I recommend writing up a simple Annual Marketing Calendar to include the following marketing practices:

• When to send out ezines
• When to send out solo email promotions
• When to launch new products or services or events and what to do when for that
• What to mail to your list or segments of your list and when – monthly, quarterly?
• What holidays to send fun things in the mail and/or email
• Where and how often to speak to groups
• What and when to send promotions to your affiliates
• How often to post on your blog or update and visit your social networking sites
• When and where to network in person

You get the idea. Are you doing this? And then are you delegating some of these tasks to a team member? If not, you’re missing out on a TON OF REVENUE!
This is the kind of work we do 1 on 1 in coaching sessions. You need to lay out your marketing plans for the entire year otherwise months will flash by and you won’t have done a thing! Sound familiar?

Step 8–What’s Next?

This is simple. You have to test, track and tweak everything you’re doing! How can you make adjustments to what’s working or what isn’t if you have NO IDEA?
The next step is the big picture step. You want to think bigger, that is to say, you want to look ahead to the bigger picture and what else is possible for you and your business. Often times we need a coach to help guide us through this process too because you don’t know what you don’t know and if you aren’t out there being exposed to what else is possible on a regular basis, it might be very hard for you to think up.

The post Online Marketing appeared first on How To Start a Business Guide.

One of the most costly mistakes you can make in business is to fail to develop a consistent plan and strategy that measures and evaluates your marketing campaigns. Without such a plan and strategy you are simply going about marketing blindly.

In each marketing campaign you must develop a plan and strategy that identify the following:

• Quantitative and qualitative goals
• Campaign budget
• Tracking and testing criteria

Most goals can be measured effectively using one of three methods:

• Cost per sale
• Cost per qualified lead
• Cost per visitor

Once you decide which result you want to measure and you have the costs incurred for the campaign or event your calculation is fairly easy.

• Cost per sale = Amount Spent for Event or Campaign / Number of sales
• Cost per Qualified Lead = Amount Spent for Event or Campaign / Number of Qualified Leads
• Cost per Visitor or Response = Amount Spent for Event or Campaign / Number of visitors or number of responses

These formulas give you the information you need to decide whether your marketing campaign was effective for your business. If it was not, find out exactly why it didn’t work and how you can better it the next time. There are several reasons why a campaign may not yield the desired results, but future successes will come from determining what those reasons are.

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The marketing plan outline is crucial to your marketing plan.

The marketing plan is an integral part of your business plan. The marketing plan is the blueprint for creating revenues and also the source of the expenses incurred in creating the revenues. It is the operational instructions for your company. The success of a business often hinges on the quality of the marketing plan, and the success of a marketing plan often hinges on the quality of the marketing plan outline.

The marketing plan outline is dealt with here on a separate page from the business plan because, whereas the business plan may or may not be updated on a regular or irregular basis, the marketing plan should be updated regularly.

If you are just starting a business you should write a marketing plan that covers one full year. That will make it consistent with the other parts of your business plan such as the cash flow statement. A time horizon greater than one year is also too long when specifying a marketing plan. There are too many changes for a startup business in a year to be able to forecast further than that. On the other hand, a more mature business should have marketing plans that have elements projecting between three to five years in the future.
The marketing plan always starts with a marketing plan outline.

Market Research

Before you write your marketing plan or even your marketing plan outline you should do market research. Market research will be done in the same two ways a student writes a term paper:

• Primary research consists of using your own resources to actually do your own research. This research can be done in many ways. Among them are:
  • Personal interviews, whether individually or in a group discussion
  • Direct mail questionnaires
  • Phone surveys

• Secondary research consists of gathering relevant data compiled by others such as industry organizations, trade unions, media sources such as magazines and newspapers, governmental agencies, quasi-governmental agencies, chambers of commerce, and so on. Secondary research can be divided into three categories:
  • Public sources—these can be found on the internet or at public libraries. They are usually free but aren’t necessarily targeted exactly to your needs. Government statistics are among the most plentiful. The census bureau has a very large database of information.
  • Commercial sources—there are companies that do research and sell it to interested parties.
  • Educational sources—one mission of colleges and universities is to engage in research. Business schools do business research. If your business is of a technical nature, there will likely be college departments doing research within your technical area.

Ideas for marketing plan outlines vary as much as ideas for business plan outlines. What’s important in a marketing plan, however, is that the plan gives a clear direction for the marketing efforts of your business for the first year in the case of a startup business, and for each year thereafter for an ongoing business.

Starting your Marketing Plan Outline: Sections of Your Marketing Plan

The broad outline of what a marketing plan must have will be discussed on this page. The more complex sections have links to greater detail.

Section One: Executive Summary

Although this is the first part of the marketing plan it is typically the final section written. It is a high-level summary of the entire marketing plan for the year. Make this section one page long and include only the key financial numbers. Write in short easy-to-read sentences and bold type for your major points.

Section Two: Products, Goals and Sales Figures

This is a brief description of the products or services to be marketed and your sales and strategic goals. It provides details the executive summary does not.

Section Three: Situation Analysis

How do things stand today before you start your business? What is the niche you plan to fill? How large is the market? What are the market trends? Who are your competitors? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What are the threats to and the opportunities for your business? All these questions are answered in this section. See the details of your Situation Analysis.

As part of your Situation Analysis do your SWOT analysis of the business environment and your PEST analysis of the general environment which serves as much of the detail of the external factors affecting the business, and is a part of the SWOT analysis.

Section Four: Marketing Strategies

What are your marketing and related financial objectives? What target are you marketing to and how will you position yourself with that target market? Who are your potential collaborators? What are your anticipated distribution channels? How are you going to promote?

This is the section where you indicate what your strategic positioning and marketing strategies are given the situation you have developed in the previous section. This is also the section where you go specifically into your pricing policies, promotion methods, channels of distribution and other specific methods. See the detail of the marketing plan example under “Marketing Strategy” and “Marketing Mix” for more information.

Section Five: Quantifiable Objectives

This is where you define how you will judge your marketing performance for the year. Marketing performance can be quantified in many ways. It is very important to define your objectives and also define a way to quantify those objectives so that you can measure your progress at the end of the year. Examples of quantifiable objectives can be the introduction of new products, new territories to be entered, and sales goals for specific products or services. Your annual goals should be broken into quarterly goals which should be tracked and adjusted each quarter. There are various ways to quantify and measure the results of your marketing campaign.

Final Words about Your Marketing Plan Outline

A good and detailed marketing plan outline is a key for preparing your marketing plan. In turn, the marketing plan is a key to start your new business. However, don’t get buried in the details. In order to see your way through your first year a no-frills approach is the most practical way to make sure your objectives are met. Consider the following hierarchy:

Set goals—a goal is the decision to get something, to do something, to be something. Your goals should be quantified so they can be measured.

Make plans—plans, if completed, should cause you to get your goal.

Decide on projects that must be completed—each plan should have several projects, the sum of which is the entire plan.

Tasks are things you do to complete each project. The sum total of the tasks should complete the project.

Marketing Plans for Specific Industries

Getting ready to create a marketing plan? Finding a sample plan for a similar company can be a great place to start. I found a site with 70+ marketing plan templates for different types of businesses. Create your own marketing plan using a template.

You can also customize your marketing plan using a design template. Designing a marketing plan is easier than ever! These templates incorporate the award-winning Duct Tape Marketing System by John Jantsch to create effective small-business marketing. Identify your ideal customers and create concrete action steps to attract, sell to, and keep them. Choose the level of detail you want, and get step-by-step guidance for each task. Powerful forecasting tools help you project and track your revenue, budgets and milestones for each program. Include your own graphics, automatically develop full-color, 3D charts, and create Microsoft Excel-like and compatible financials. Leading experts agree – Marketing Plan Pro is the best software available for writing a marketing plan. Learn more about Marketing Plan Pro.

You Now Know…

The marketing plan outline gives you the structure for your marketing plan which is your blueprint for creating your revenues. You will probably spend a large amount of money on marketing. You now know:

• The importance of creating a marketing plan.
• How to create a marketing plan and what should go into your plan.
• How to create a SWOT Analysis, a PEST Analysis and a Situation Analysis.
• Where you can find marketing plan templates to help you create your marketing plan.

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This is tip #1 of my top 10 FREE marketing ideas, all of them creative and low-cost. Display your cards or brochures at coffee shops, book stores, businesses of people you know, membership stores like Costco and Sam’s Club, anywhere that will allow it; all of these are free. Seek out ones locally that will allow you to do this and replenish them frequently. You can also approach other business professionals that compliment what you do and have a similar target market as you to swap marketing materials, meaning you display or carry theirs and they yours.

#2 of my free marketing ideas is to: Hold an Open House, Ribbon Cutting or some kind of an event to attract the public or your specific target market to your business. You can partner with another business to split the cost, you can bring in a charity to raise money for or have a client appreciation night of some sort. Whatever you do, make sure you plan it well in advance and publicize the event to the media and your database. I can help you plan and promote your events in the media and to your database!

#3 of my free marketing ideas is to: Networking is the cheapest form of advertising you can do – find organizations, associations, chambers, groups and monthly meetings that have attendees and members that fit your unique target market client or referral source and visit them first, then join if you see the value. The key to networking is frequency. You need to go to the organization’s events that you join each month for greater visibility, to be recognized and ultimately to be the go-to person for your particular industry.

#4 of my free marketing ideas is to: Put your sales message and/or logo on everything, your car, shirts, nametag, building, invoices, envelopes, sales flyers, receipts, tags, etc. Simple name/logo branding can be a huge asset for a small business (everyone will say “I’ve seen your stuff somewhere”). Ask me for a referral for companies who do these things!

#5 of my free marketing ideas is to: trade for services for things you may need (bookkeeping help, CPA, financial or attorney advice, marketing, advertising, promotions, signs, promo items, printing, products, services, etc.). By trading your product for goods and services you will save money. Trading will also give you other avenues to pursue for referrals.

#6 of my free marketing ideas is to: Go in with other small businesses that compliment your business on advertising opportunities, chamber inserts or in their newsletter, inserts in the local papers, direct mail pieces, target mailing list purchases, door to door flyers, etc. (i.e. housekeeping business and carpet cleaning business). This will keep your costs lower for these items and give you greater credibility by partnering with other professionals. I can help you design and coordinate these marketing pieces so they STAND OUT!

#7 of my free marketing ideas is to: Make sure you are listed on all local area or national website directories that will target your message for you. Do the free ones for sure, but evaluate them if they charge a fee.

The post 7 Old School Free Marketing Ideas That Still Work appeared first on How To Start a Business Guide.

This page is dedicated to helping your business survive.

There are pages on this site that teach various aspects of marketing:

• Free marketing ideas, all of them creative and low-cost,
• Steps to create a formal marketing plan,
• Tips on how to gather market research you will use to create marketing plans,
• Free sample marketing plans tailor-made for your industry.
• An introduction to Situation Analysis,
• The SWOT Analysis of the Business Environment,
• The PEST Analysis of the General Environment, and
• The way to determine the results of your marketing efforts.

These are tools you need in order to write a marketing plan as the marketing portion of a formal business plan. You will probably need a formal business plan if you have to borrow money. They are also good tools to use for analysis, research and for determining the results of your efforts.

This page gives you the practical step-by-step guide you need as you go through the eight critical items that you should consider in creating a marketing plan for your small business startup. These eight critical items are appropriate for a traditional off-line business.

If you are considering an online business, these same eight principles are a great start to creating a marketing plan. In addition you should look at “The 8 Steps to Starting Your Own Online Marketing of Information Business“. Together these will form a complete checklist for your online business.

Small Business Marketing Checklist for Startup Businesses

The next section was adapted from an article written by Katrina Sawa.

About the Author —
Katrina Sawa, Small Biz Marketing Expert, helps entrepreneurs and small business owners build their database of clients and prospects; she helps them determine the best ways to market their business to their target market; she teaches them how to network, develop follow up systems, and create marketing and advertising plans, and helps them find ways to get free or low cost publicity, which all lead to more customers and increased sales!

The following eight items are what I consider a good small business start up checklist. If you are in business or thinking about getting into business you will want to make sure you are working on each of these points constantly. The mix of all of these necessary items works well to maximize your exposure, credibility, and expert status as well as build your database and help you make informed marketing decisions.

1. Determine a Realistically Defined Target Market — Most small business owners actually have way too large of a target market to be realistic. They can’t market to their entire market with the limited time and budget available. More than likely you might want to narrow down your market or define your niche even more with specific demographics and psychographics; then you’ll really begin to see unique opportunities that might become available to reach that market. And don’t forget about all your referral sources — they are your target market too!

2. Create a Marketing Plan — This plan should outline everything you could possibly do in your marketing based on who your target market (ideal client) is and the best ways to reach that client including various guerrilla marketing techniques, promotions, and co-promotions.

Then you need to stick to your well-researched plan and not get sold or steered away by random advertising opportunities.

This marketing plan should also include a publicity plan, which includes pertinent media contacts, press releases, article submissions and event listings for ongoing exposure. If youÂ’re not submitting press releases regularly to the local media, local organizations you belong to, etc. you are missing FREE opportunities to get additional exposure for your business.

When you create marketing plans you should also include an advertising plan which should include a time line and a budget. More than likely, you’re not spending enough money on advertising–period, end of story. If advertising is done in the right places, places that reach your target market, with a good message or headline and for a reasonable length of time you should see good results. If you only try it once or go too small or have no idea how to design your ad effectively you will not get results.

Learn about all the advertising mediums in your target area, who they reach, their demographics, what kind of circulation they have based on their cost, etc.

When you create marketing plans you should also include an active networking plan. This should include any appropriate organizations, associations, chambers or other professional groups that bring in referrals or are good venues for prospecting or business development.
Pick two to five organizations you believe are the best ones to promote your business or build your business in; join them and then become as active as you possibly can so you become the well known expert in your field. Volunteer your time generously and most of all put their events on your calendar before ANY other client meeting or job. Rather than having to spend a lot of money on traditional advertising (which doesn’t typically work much anyway for most small businesses) go networking instead; it’s less expensive and more effective.
To put a quick Marketing Action Plan into effect for your business right away, if you want some help, sign up for a 1 Hour Strategy Session with me; go to the coaching page of Katrina’s website. She has a unique talent for developing just the right blend of marketing strategies for every budget and business – online or offline. Plus this session is 100% guaranteed or your money back!!

3. Database — your database should be inputted and formatted in the computer. You should be able to distinguish clients, prospective clients, referral sources and contacts. You need one place where everyone you have ever known or done business with is housed in the computer so it’s easily mail merged. Sort your contacts if you can by hot, warm or cold prospect or referral source. Then you should regularly stay in touch with your database through effective Database Marketing and Follow Up in order for you to be on the top of their minds when the topic of your service/product comes up.

Your database marketing and follow up can include letter and email templates, a system for following up with hot, warm and cold prospects and ongoing database marketing. If you are not doing quick follow up after you meet someone then you are missing opportunities and they will forget about you. You want to follow up with everyone you meet within 48 hours and then continuously. You need to make this automatic, systematic and practical so it will get done; delegate this if you have to.

4. Website – including Domain Name (s), Hosting, Reciprocal Links, and Internet Submission. You are missing out on sales if you do NOT have a website (see Note from Tom at the bottom of this page). But a professional website is a must, not a home-made, amateur site; that will hurt you and your credibility. It doesnÂ’t have to cost an arm and a leg, but the goal should be to inform, entice and capture. Capturing the contact info from everyone who visits your site should be your most important goal. Then you can continue marketing to them either by mail or email and they more likely will use or refer you.

5. Email Marketing – Distribution Lists, Programs for Email Marketing, Newsletters, Promotions. Email marketing is the cheapest form of marketing anyone can do these days but there are spam laws to follow and email etiquette you should strive to follow so you look as professional as you can. For example, adding people you meet to your ezine or email newsletter without getting their ok or online opt in is against the spam laws and you definitely don’t want to do it!

See www.spamlaws.com for more tips on what to look out for in your email marketing. I have all kinds of products on my website where you can learn more about effective email marketing techniques and strategies even for those people you meet that you want to connect with!

There are online email programs you can use to really make your emails POP but remember to send people information that they want to read, not just what you want them to read. When you consult with me, we evaluate the best format and program to use for your email marketing campaigns as well as figure out how often you should send them, what to say in them and how to make more money with them.

6. Professional Marketing Materials – Business Cards, Letterhead, Envelopes, Brochures, Sales Packets, Fliers, and Postcards. Do whatever is necessary to reach your target market. Of course these materials need to be professionally designed, printed and presented! DonÂ’t try to design your own marketing materials unless you are a qualified graphic artist; trust me, they will not reflect the image you want to project. ItÂ’s not just important for the materials to look good, they also need to have an attention getting headline, message and a clear call to action.

Hiring a good graphic designer is tough; many designers are not what they say they are. Ask me for a referral or have me help you. With my sales and marketing expertise and one of my talented graphic designers, we can create outstanding marketing materials that will make you stand OUT from your competition.

7. Branding – Includes Signage like Name Tags, Shirts with Logo, Vehicle Signs, Banners, Promotional Products and Giveaways. The more your name is in front of peopleÂ’s faces the better. You want people to recognize your brand on everything you do and everywhere you go. Find a good promotional products company from your local chamber of commerce or ask me for a referral.

One very inexpensive way to brand your company and products is with printed t-shirts and other garments.  In the old days small companies were shut out because screen printers required large minimums as well as setup charges for each job.  Big Frog imprints garments digitally.  It’s an eco-friendly system and they require no minimums, they don’t charge for artwork, there are no setup charges, and they have a 24 hour turnaround time.  I have personally had many garments printed there and their graphic designers are great and very easy to work with.  Their garments never crack, separate or peel and the print will last as long as the garment!  They offer a great selection of high quality products and 100% satisfaction. Their prices are also very reasonable.  They will also ship nationwide.  You can also check them out on facebook.

8. Good, Reliable Vendors – Includes industry vendors as well as those for your business development like printers, mailing houses, delivery services, rental companies, assistants. You’d be surprised to know you’re probably spending too much money in one or more of these areas right now. Find reliable, inexpensive sources. If you need referrals to companies I recommend, just ask me!

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