Website Marketing Plan News, December 9, 2003

I have just published a new marketing plan site, http://www.MarketingPlanArticles.com.

The site includes articles that approach marketing planning from different directions. One - Alexandria K. Brown’s “You Don’t NEED a Marketing Plan” - even tells why she thinks a plan is not necessary.

Surprisingly, I agree with most of her points, especially her advice to continually focus on doing something to move your business forward. An individual entrepreneur or small business person must be action oriented, be willing to take risks, and ready to venture boldly forth in the face of incomplete or imperfect information.

I think Alexandria holds some underlying assumptions about marketing plans that do not always hold true:

(1) Having a marketing plan means your actions are set in stone.
I would argue the main purpose of a marketing plan is to help you decide what overall strategies are best for your business, not to limit your actions. In fact, I love flexibility. It helps you best take advantage of changing situations.

(2) Writing a marketing plan involves suspension of actions until you reach 100% certainty.
I would ABSOLUTELY disagree. Business, by its very nature, is continually in flux. Reaching 100% certainty is impossible. That is one of the beauties of having a marketing plan - it can help you overcome the problems created by not knowing everything about a particular activity.

(3) A marketing plan has to be meticulously documented.

Not so. The strategy and logic behind your marketing activities are the critical parts of a marketing plan. My personal marketing plan is a single summary page.

In fact, Alexandria says it best herself, “I just knew who I wanted to reach and what I wanted to say.” That, to me, is evidence of strategy and planning. She knows her target audience and she knows her positioning.

I highly suspect she also knows what strategies - general approaches - she should take with her business and uses them to help her decide which actions to take.

And THAT, folks, is what a marketing plan is all about.

More Marketing Plan Articles…

“What to Include When You Write a Marketing Plan” by Bobette Kyle
For those new to marketing plans, the thought of writing a marketing plan from start to finish may feel daunting. It need not. The level of detail you choose to include will depend on your resources and situation. I give you some ideas for deciding upon marketing plan contents.

“Create a Marketing Plan” by Marcia Layton Turner
Although virtually every entrepreneur or business owner has ideas about how to market their company’s products or services, few actually have a written marketing plan. Marcia gives ideas for how to spend your marketing budget throughout the year.

“The Essential Contents of a Marketing Plan” by Tim Berry and Doug Wilson
Tim and Doug explain different elements of a detailed, strategic plan.

“Where are You Going and How Will You Get There?” by Marc Hausman
Marc explains why articulating a detailed communications strategy - with both macro- and micro-targeting components - can help grow your business.