Strategic Marketing Plan? Get Back To Basics

Here's the thing: it's simply not enough to be good at what you do nowadays.

I'm sure you've encountered people in your professional life who have less than stellar professional abilities but are getting loads of gigs. You wonder, "Why?" - when your resume is way better than theirs.

Well, it may simply be because they are better marketers, and they have been implementing a strategic marketing plan.

They may not keep clients over a long time, but you have to admit, they're pretty darn good at reeling them in. And reeling them in means knowing and truly understanding their needs - and knowing your business well enough to be able to address those needs.

You know you need to create a strategic marketing plan that promotes your great abilities or your products and services, but first of all, realize that you might be the best at what you do, but if nobody knows about you and your offering, and why they're of value, then you can't expect clients or customers to come running towards you.

Needless to say, a well-conceived and properly implemented strategic marketing plan is the foundation for your business' success.

So how do you do it? Go back to the basics. Only when all these things are clear to you can you implement a great marketing plan:

# 1 Know EVERYTHING about your business.

What are you product or service strengths? Know all these by heart, including your pricing, sales promotion and distribution methods, etc. Take a look at your industry. Is it growing or declining?

#2 Know your prospects, clients, customers.

Who are they in terms of age, status, income, job title, etc.? Do you know their habits more or less? Where do they shop, what do they read, watch, and listen to? What do they currently value most about your offerings - convenience? Service? Reliability? Affordability? Your friendly face and good looks perhaps? How did previous clients/customers learn about your product or service? Was it through email, public relations, advertising, word of mouth?

#3 Check out your competition.

In your target area, how many competitors do you have? What do they offer that you don't? What online marketing strategies do they use. Is their website and content better than yours?

#4 Know your budget.

What were the methods you have used that had been most effective? Which tools or strategies did you used that required least amount of time and money, yet delivered great results? Do you need to make new action plans? If yes, what's the budget for its implementation?

After you've answered all these questions and are now ready to develop a strategic marketing plan, don't forget to keep this in mind: your prospects ALWAYS want to know what's in it for them. Your marketing efforts are less about you and your business than they are about your clients, and customers. Take with you the confidence that comes from truly knowing and understanding your business, so that you can come up with a great plan that will make you a winning online marketer.