15 tips for the perfect marketing plan

A marketing plan is needed for business development. A good plan must take into account all the basic issues of Internet marketing:

• who is your target audience;
• how do you intend to attract ee;
• initiatives to preserve the current customer base and stimulate subsequent purchases.

Let’s try to figure out together which provisions of the marketing plan should be taken into account, and what these sections are.

1. The main provisions.
   List the main provisions of the plan. As the name suggests, this is the main content of the remaining sections of the marketing strategy plan.
   The list of main provisions is useful in the sense that it gives you and others (employees, consultants, etc.) an opportunity to get a general idea of the developed plan.
2. Target audience.
   This section presents the characteristics of customers. There must be a description of the demographic (age, gender) and psychological (for example, interests) portrait of the consumer, his desires and needs in relation to the goods / services that you offer.
   The correct identification of the target audience provides a number of advantages, such as, for example, the possibility of conducting a targeted advertising campaign (and, consequently, obtaining higher rates of return on investment) and the ability to «speak the language» of a potential client.
3. UTP (Unique Trade Offer).
   Having a good selection of unique offers is one of those factors that allow a commercial organization to stand out from competitors.
   UTP is a distinctive feature of a number of outstanding companies. An example is the slogan–offer of FedEx: «When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight». The slogan is in the same frequency range with the thoughts and moods of consumers. And it resonates with the expectations of those for whom fast delivery is important.
4. Pricing and image.
   These two aspects should be on the same level. For example, if you want a company to enjoy the reputation of a manufacturer of premium products, then too low a price can provoke the opposite effect — and dissuade customers from buying a certain product.
   This section of the plan should describe the desired positioning and how it is consistent with the pricing policy.
5. Distribution.
   This section details the purchase process. Will customers buy anything on the website? Through the mediation of distributors, distributors and other retailers? Etc.
   Think of various methods by which you could reach the audience, and describe them in this section of the marketing plan.
6. Offer.
   The combination of such events allows you to acquire new customers and return old ones.
   Such offers may include free trial versions, money-back guarantees, package services (for example, a combination of various products and/or services) and discounts. Some business organizations may not need such special offers, but their use will definitely contribute to the expansion of the customer base.
7. Brand branding.
   This term means auxiliary elements that make it possible to promote the product among existing and potential customers. Among other things, these can be: websites, brochures, business cards and catalogs.
   Specify what marketing material is at your disposal and what else needs to be added to this section of the plan.
8. Promotion.
   The promotion section is one of the most important in marketing terms, since it describes the scheme of reaching the client audience.
   There are many tactics of this kind: television advertising, marketing through industry exhibitions, press releases, online advertising, marketing of an individual event.
   In this section of the marketing plan, consider each alternative option separately and try to find out which one is more suitable for attracting target consumers.
9. Internet marketing.
   Whether someone likes it or not, but today most of the sites receive information about new products or services on the Internet. In such conditions, the presence of an effective strategy for Internet marketing provides one-sided competitive advantages.

Four key components:
Keyword strategy: Identify keywords to optimize the website.
Search engine optimization: make a list of updates for the site for greater clarity of the main keywords.
The strategy of paid online ads: create programs for paid ads, with the help of which the expansion of the customer base is planned.
SMM: make a scheme according to which you plan to use social media in order to attract customers.

10. Conversion.
    Conversion strategies are techniques by which potential consumers turn into those customers who actually make purchases. For example, improving the order processing procedure may increase the ĸoefficiency ĸ of the transaction. A similar effect is also exerted by activity in the social field (for example, demonstrating the testimonies of customers who were happy to cooperate with the company) – almost always increases the conversion rate and sales volumes.
11. Partnership.
    Joint ventures and various partnership agreements involve cooperation with other organizations in order to increase the number of customers and more monetization of the current customer base. For example, if you sell spare guitar strings, cooperation with a manufacturer of guitar rigs can be very profitable. A musical instrument manufacturer may have thousands of customers who buy guitars and who may need spare strings.
    Think about what related products customers can buy. Make a list with the names of manufacturers of related products and add this list to the section of the marketing plan. And in the future, try to negotiate with representatives of these companies for cooperation.
12. Strategy of innovation.
    If each of the clients recommends a certain product or service to another person, the customer base can expand from this.
    However, formalized strategies without recommendations are usually not very successful. For example, a reward may be provided for recommendations from the client. These strategies deserve detailed consideration.
13. The strategy of increasing.
    The main goal when working with a potential client is to make a purchase possible, but it is also important to pay attention to the total amount of the transaction.
    The transaction price or the amount that the customer spends on the purchase is an important indicator. If the average customer of one company is 0, and the average check of a competing company is 0, then we have to conclude that the latter has a higher volume of financial receipts, and possibly profits. As a result, this firm has more funds for a promotional campaign and opportunities to expand its market share.
    This section of the plan may include methods for increasing the transaction amount: increasing the cost of goods, selling goods in large packages, etc.
14. Customer retention.
    Some organizations spend a lot of time and energy on attracting new customers, and somewhat neglect the current ones – they do not try to ensure that they make purchases more often.
    With the help of monthly mailings or programs to increase customer loyalty, it is possible to increase the volume of financial receipts and, consequently, profits. This is possible by increasing the frequency of purchases made.
    This section may list ways to quickly expand the customer base.
15. Financial planning.
    The last section of the Internet marketing plan is devoted to financial planning and includes all the information contained in this plan.
    Here, for example, you can add expenses for promotional campaigns and the expected result from them — new customers, sales, profit. Here you can describe the expected results from a new campaign to retain current customers and so on.
    Financial planning may not be 100% accurate, but it still allows you to determine which strategies will bring the highest return on investment. In addition, it makes it possible to identify long- and short-term goals that the company is going to achieve.

P.S.: Filling out 15 sections of the plan is quite a busy job. But it’s worth it, because an effective plan will certainly provoke an increase in profits – and all the efforts spent will be fully rewarded. And do not forget that filling in these 15 items «for show» can lead to disastrous results.

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