Helping small businesses grow.

  • Blog
  • >
  • What Can a Marketing Plan Do For You?

What Can a Marketing Plan Do For You?

Many businesses operate with a “seat-of-the-pants” marketing plan. A good marketing plan will work as a guide to ensure all your marketing channels are operating to their fullest capacity.

A marketing plan sets up measurable results against which a business can determine its return on investment (ROI).

Some sound advice on marketing plans

  1.  You can operate your business without a marketing plan, but you can’t really run your business. Maybe you’ve been getting by with the status quo, but could you do better? A marketing plan tells everyone on the team what the payoff will be and how you’re going to get there.
  2. Quality is better than quantity. If you set out to immediately write a 10-year marketing plan, you’re likely to be rewriting around year two! Times are changing and your marketing tools should be too. Spend time narrowing down your plan to the activities that will bring you the largest ROI (return on investment) in the shortest period of time.
  3.  Consider your audience. It doesn’t matter how much you spend on marketing and advertising if you’re aiming it at the wrong people. Current marketing tools provide a way for you to narrow your focus to only those audience members who are your best potential customers.
  4.  Set an implementation schedule. Give yourself time to gather everything you’ll need (i.e. editorial calendar, great photos, inspiring content) and outline a specific schedule for execution.
  5.  Have a backup plan. Just like your marketing plan can go out of date, it can also go sideways just as quickly. Stay abreast of new tools and constantly evaluate the effectiveness of your existing tools. When something goes wrong (and it will) be prepared to make the best of it with your “second-choice” activity.
  6.  Make the marketing plan easy to follow. Tell your staff about the marketing plan and explain in it detail. Knowing what’s in the plan can help your employees become brand ambassadors for your company.
  7.  Don’t be too hard on yourself. In the 1980s and ’90s, a business could live off the same marketing plan for 5-7 years. Not so much anymore.

    Marketing is a skill, a talent, and a science. It’s also a necessity for your small business. Take steps to ramp up your marketing today by reaching out to a marketing consultant or mentor.

Thank you so much for the help. This wouldn’t have been possible without you. Am very grateful for your help and support and all the encouragement and positive vibes. God bless you!

—Isa Clark

I appreciate all that you do to support small businesses in the region. You are knocking it out of the park!

—Sonja A. Dean, Senior Program Officer, LISC

Thank you so much for your help and direction! Thank you so much for always being here for me to help, motivate, direct, and encourage me. Underground Hu$tle would really be nonexistent if it weren’t for you!  Thank you so much for being you and everything you continue to do.

—Jäquil Short

We look forward to seeing more programing and resources from the South Haven Region Business Hub.

—Josh Musinski, Water and Wheat, Vegan Chef Crafted Creations

WE GOT APPROVED FOR OUR NEW RESTAURANT!!! I can’t thank you enough for your guidance, mentorship, expertise, and motivation. We greatly appreciate your efforts towards the growth of Fruit Street Kitchen!

—Mo’Nique Crowley, Fruit Street Kitchen

Thank you for all your help as always I can’t sing your praises enough.

—Brent Wedding, Business Banking Relationship Manager, PNC Bank

I do appreciate your help with all my heart and am not particularly sure how to express the gratitude that dwells in my heart right now. Thank you and may you be blessed always!

—Isa Clark, Clark Special Kitchen

Can’t thank you enough for being at my presentation this morning. I’m so thankful for absolutely everything you have done for me and The Donut Cart thus far. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!

—Amber Gille, Realtor, The Donut Cart

Thank you so much; I knew when I met you, you were like an angel. I appreciate you so much and I won’t let you down. Your hard work in what you are doing in the community is appreciated.

—Jamie Bigby, Entrepreneur

I just wanted to say thank you for sharing so much information. I look forward to being able to be involved in this great networking experience. I really will call on your assistance for help with this Business Plan.

—Joanna Partee, Silver Fox Assistant, LLC

Previous
Next

South Haven Region Business Hub - A partnership between the City of South Haven, the South Haven Area Chamber of Commerce, and Lake Michigan College. Powered by the South Haven Community Foundation.