 "If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up someplace else."- Yogi Berra Imagine that you're about to embark on a journey through a deep, vast forest. Would you head off into that terrain without a map, and just hope you wouldn’t get lost along the way? Or would you take time to consider a clear path forward, and ensure you had the tools you needed to stay on track? A strategic and tactical marketing plan will be your compass when you need to navigate within a complex, ever-shifting business landscape. The marketing plan simplifies brainstorming by getting to what matters: your goals, who you need to reach to achieve them, and how you can reach them. It also helps you tell your organization’s story by developing an engaging narrative about what you offer through mediums like:
A well-designed plan also helps your communications team align on key marketing objectives and actions. By having a shared plan, everyone involved in the marketing process has a guiding document – a “north star” – to reference when questions arise. Furthermore, the plan gives you a tool for assessing your success at important milestones such as the end of a campaign or fiscal quarter. What's in a Strategic & Tactical Marketing Plan? A strategic marketing plan includes several key sections to help you articulate your brand, business goals, and resources. Brand Identity Start with a fundamental question – “who are you?” Describe your mission, history, and what you offer your customers now as well as what you intend to offer in the future. Consider the opportunities you foresee for your business in the year ahead, and write these out in a single Opportunity Statement. Audience/Customers Describe the target audience(s) for your product or service. What are their demographics? What does your offering provide them in terms of what they stand to gain? What are their pain points, and how can you relieve them? What is the most powerful message or positioning statement you can deliver to each of these audiences? Peers/Competitors Peer organizations will demonstrate practices that may be worth adapting. What are they doing well in their digital marketing and communications that you might be able to emulate? Are they doing something that you are not, and is it worth pursuing?  Customer Journey In this section, you’ll determine the ideal engagement with a new customer. Trace their journey from the moment they first hear about your business to how you communicate with them after you deliver your service. How does a customer hear about you? Where do they go to learn more about you? By asking these questions, you can determine where gaps exist in your current communications. Situational Analysis Go back to your Opportunity Statement, and use the SWOT framework to respond to it:
Objectives and Goals To determine what exactly you want your marketing and communications plan to accomplish, it’s important to generate a list of S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) goals. The metrics you establish for success should give you a way to swiftly observe when you are meeting, exceeding, or falling short of your ambitions – allowing you to maintain or change your course as needed. Strategies, Tools, and Tactics Review all of the resources you have available, including both marketing channels and human talent. Think of different ways you can deploy these resources to reach the goals you identified in the previous section, and the costs or benefits of those specific marketing tactics. Angles When you discuss your offering with your target audiences, what are the most compelling stories you can tell about it – and which of these stories might also generate coverage from media outlets? Which of these stories cause users to FEEL (generate awareness), THINK (foster consideration), or DO (spark action)? Budget and Timeline A strategic marketing and communications plan should also consider your organization’s constraints. Use this final section to outline how much you can afford to spend on paid advertising and how soon you need to start seeing optimal results, then adjust your plan accordingly. Connecting the Dots All these different sections can seem overwhelming, but the beauty of a marketing plan is that they should each connect. Consider the plan we described above. Your brand identity will shape the audience you aim to reach, which will in turn impact the strategies, marketing campaigns, and distribution channels you use to pursue them. Let’s say you focus your brand identity on being hip and trendy. If so, you likely want to target a younger audience. And if that’s the case, you’ll want to focus on platforms that younger folks are most likely to frequent, like TikTok and Instagram. You can be sure you’ve built a strong marketing plan when all of its sections – brand identity, audience, strategies and tactics, etc. – are rowing in the same direction. Ready to Get Started?
If this seems daunting, we’re here to help! We’ve helped a number of organizations develop marketing action plans through dynamic, collaborative workshops. You can learn more about this offering here, or contact us and tell us about your organization's needs.
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