What is the difference between the marketing strategy and marketing plan? Marketing strategy is the why behind what you are doing. The Marketing plan is the how – how are you going to do this. I consider the marketing plan as a campaign. There are different phases in the marketing plan to consider:
- Actual product/service. What is being brought to market? What will the focus on the campaign of the marketing plan be on? How is it different to the market? Does it fit in a niche? Or have a value add? What makes it special and stand out? The campaign should make this simple for prospective customers to understand. It should incorporate what your brand stands for and feel authentic.
- Customer base. Personas are important to create and understand. If you have an existing customer base it is a great starting point to understand an actual target market. You can also save on marketing funds if you look for look a-likes (if this makes sense). These prospective customers can be put into segmentations to see how they perform.
- Competitor analysis, industry analysis and research. SWOT is a good tool as a moment in time to understand your brand/product compared to a competitor or the market. It is also extremely important to look at direct and indirect competitors to ensure you have a good understanding of the market.
- Resources. Who is going to do what and how? What is the budget? What is the team you need internally and externally to make the campaign successful eg SEO, social media, call centre training etc.
- Goals and KPIs. What does success look like? Benchmarking is important to understand what levers are doing to improve sales etc. There are many different types of KPIs and goals to consider such as sales, customer engagement, likes, etc but you need to ensure it is meaningful and measurable.
- Timing and media. What is the marketing mix – above the line, below the line. What focus will there be on existing base? When is the best time to launch or should you pivot?
Marketing plans can take between 6-12 months to recap. This will depend on what your campaign is etc. It is extremely important to have a clear calendar to follow for you plan so you will be most successful!
Listen to the podcast on the Marketing Plan to here more in detail – transcript also available.
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