Key Elements of a Strategic Marketing Plan

Prepared by Herring Management Consultants
wwww.herringmanagement.com

• Positioning: Know what business you are in. What’s unique about you? What are the key marketing messages that you want reflected in all your sales and marketing materials?
• Market analysis: How will you pinpoint target markets and identify major opportunities? Who and where are your highest potential prospects?
• Competitive analysis: Know your competitors and your pluses/minuses against each. What are your key selling advantages?
• Customer analysis: Analyze current customer base by revenue and by potential. Customers usually follow the 80/20 rule (80% of revenue comes from 20% of customers). Make your strategies customer driven. Determine where your greatest opportunities lie and focus on high-potential clients while protecting the revenue base.
• Revenue analysis: Group current revenue into categories by industry, markets (private vs. government), product type or whatever groupings make sense for your business. Do the same for desired revenue streams – to reflect new markets and directions.
• Customer service strategy: How will you service customers (phone, Web, people or combo)? What are the costs vs. rewards?
• Product development strategy: How will you develop your product/service? Consider buy vs. build vs. partner.
• Product delivery strategy: How will you deliver your product/service? Consider professional services vs. training vs. outsource or other.
• Pricing strategy: Pricing follows strategy. What is your pricing philosophy? Are you higher/lower than competition and why? What about discounts or incentives? Have you done an ROI analysis on current business to determine profitability?
• Sales strategy: How will you sell your products/services? Consider direct vs. channels vs. alliances.
• Sales process: What is your process for generating leads and managing them through the sales “funnel” to closure? How do you classify leads (cold, warm, hot or other)?
• Promotion strategies: How are you going to get the word out and generate leads – via Web, printed materials, trade organizations, direct mail, advertising, telemarketing, public relations and so on.
• Major marketing objectives: State the key marketing accomplishments or initiatives you want to make for the next 12 months. How will you measure success? Think of this as desired outcomes.
• Strategies: Answer the question, “How?” How will you accomplish each objective?
• Monthly action plans: Plan activities by quarter. Small goals are easier to meet than big ones. Determine responsible parties and target dates for each task.
• Marketing budget: How much will it take to meet your goals over the next 12 months. Develop a spreadsheet with key marketing programs or initiatives down the side and months across the top. Estimate costs for each entry. A rule of thumb is 5-7% of sales for a marketing budget but some are lucky to get 3%.

Complete each of these sections plus your budget spreadsheet and you have a Marketing Plan. To make the plan a useful tool, review it at the end of each quarter and make adjustments for the next quarter.

Please contact us for a no-obligation discussion of your planning needs.