by Cathy Gray | Aug 8, 2022 | Professional Articles, Marketing
How to Develop a Marketing Plan
A marketing plan sounds like something only big companies with dedicated teams and a conference room whiteboard need. It's not. Whether you're running a small business, managing marketing solo, or trying to get everyone on the same page, having a plan keeps you from throwing money at tactics that don't connect to anything.
I built an eCommerce site from the ground up with no prior industry knowledge and had it live and selling within six months. That didn't happen by winging it: it happened because there was a plan behind every decision.
This post walks through what a marketing plan actually is, why it matters, and how to build one. The outline at the end gives you a framework you can use right now.
What Is a Marketing Strategy?
A marketing strategy is the "why" behind everything you do. It's the decisions you make about who you're targeting, what you're saying, and where you're showing up. Tactics come after. If you skip the strategy and go straight to tactics, you end up busy without a direction.
A further article talks more about marketing strategies.
What Is a Marketing Plan?
A marketing plan is the document that connects your strategy to your execution. It outlines your goals, your budget, your tactics, and your timeline: everything in one place so nothing gets missed and nothing gets spent without a reason.
It should be specific to your business, not a generic template you fill in once and shelve. Plan to revisit it regularly. Markets change, budgets shift, and what worked last year might not be the right move this year.
Why Your Business Needs a Marketing Plan
Without one, you're guessing. You might be doing a lot of things, but if they're not connected to a goal, it's hard to know what's working or where to spend next.
A marketing plan gives you a clear picture of where you are, where you're going, and what it's going to take to get there. It keeps your budget accountable, your efforts focused, and your team (even if that team is just you) on the same page.
It also helps after the initial push. A lot of businesses put effort into launching a campaign and then drop it. A plan builds in the follow-up so the work doesn't stop when the excitement does.
What Is a Top-Down Marketing Strategy?
Top-down starts with leadership. The company sets the goals, the messaging, and the overall direction: then the marketing team builds campaigns around it. Common in larger organizations where brand consistency matters across multiple teams or locations.
What Is a Bottom-Up Marketing Strategy?
Bottom-up flips it. The marketing or sales team drives the ideas based on what they're seeing in the field: customer conversations, support tickets, search trends. It tends to be more responsive and works well for smaller teams that are close to the customer.
What Is an Integrated Marketing Strategy?
Integrated marketing means your channels are working together instead of in silos. The same message, adapted for each platform: email, social, paid, and your website are all saying the same thing at the same time. A product launch is a good example: you're not running four disconnected campaigns, you're running one campaign across four channels.
Marketing Plan Outline
Here's a framework you can use as a starting point. Adjust it to fit your business size, goals, and budget. Not every section will apply the same way, but all of them are worth thinking through.
Executive Summary
Write this last, even though it lives first.
It's a snapshot of your entire plan and if someone only reads this section, they should walk away understanding what your business is trying to do and why.
A marketing executive summary includes
- a description of the company,
- its products or services,
- its target market,
- how it plans to reach that market.
- Mission statement
Include a brief look at your competition and what sets you apart. One paragraph is enough.
Situation Analysis: Where Does The Company Stand Right Now
Before you set goals, you need an honest look at where things are. That means your strengths, your weaknesses, what's working in the market, and what's working against you. A SWOT analysis is a good starting point.
Some questions worth answering here:
- Who is your target customer?
- Who are your main competitors?
- How do you compare on price, product, and visibility?
- What does your current marketing look like and is it working?
- What is your marketing philosophy?
- Create a buyer persona
This section is the foundation. Skipping it means your goals are guesses.
Goals and Objectives: What Do You Want To Achieve?
This is where you get specific. Goals without numbers are just wishes. A short-term goal might be increasing web traffic by 20% in the next three months. A long-term goal might be growing market share over the next two years. Objectives are the specific steps that get you there.
Keep them realistic. A goal to grow sales by 50% when you're starting from zero isn't a goal, it's a hope.
Some questions to work through:
- What specific marketing activities do you want to accomplish?
- What results are you expecting from this plan?
- How will you measure success?
Strategies and Tactics: How Will the Business Get There?
Strategy is the direction. Tactics are how you execute it. Once you know your goals, you can figure out which channels and activities make the most sense to reach them. Not every business needs every channel: pick the ones that match your audience and your capacity.
I've run SEO, PPC, content, email, Google Merchant Center, and print campaigns at the same time for the same business. The lesson wasn't to do everything, it was knowing which combination was worth the time and budget for that specific business.
Some common tactics to consider:
- Social media marketing
- Email marketing
- Search engine marketing (SEO and PPC)
- Content marketing
- Paid advertising
- Print and digital marketing materials
- Referral and loyalty programs
- Product launches
- Advertising and promotion calendars
Start with what you can actually manage and build from there.
Budget: How Much Money Will The Business Need to Implement The Marketing Plan?
You don't need a big budget to have a good marketing plan, but you do need to know what you're working with. Being realistic here saves you from committing to tactics you can't actually fund.
Tools are a good example. There are expensive options for everything in marketing. But cost-effective alternatives exist if you look for them. SpyFu covers a lot of the same competitive research ground as pricier tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs at a fraction of the cost. Budget decisions like that add up.
Factor in the expected costs but also leave room for the unexpected: a freelancer you need to bring in, an ad campaign that comes up last minute but makes sense to run.
Some questions to work through:
- How much are you allocating to each marketing channel?
- What does a digital campaign cost versus a direct mail campaign?
- What are you willing to spend on advertising?
- What are you willing to spend on research and tools?
Marketing Plan Timeline
A timeline keeps everything from living in a document that no one looks at after the first meeting. It assigns ownership, sets deadlines, and tells you when to expect results.
Some questions to work through:
- Who is responsible for each step?
- When does the campaign start and end?
- How long will each step take?
- When should you expect to see results?
- Consider building out an editorial calendar alongside this
Review, Test, and Optimize
A marketing plan is only useful if you actually revisit it. Once you launch, check in on what's working and what isn't. If a goal wasn't met, figure out why before you just do more of the same thing.
I used Google Analytics, Search Console, and heatmap and recording tools like HotJar and Microsoft Clarity to make real decisions: not just to pull reports, but to actually change what we were doing based on what the data showed. Optimization isn't a concept, it's a habit.
Make changes, then review again. Marketing is a cycle, not a checklist.
Conclusion
A/B testing is where marketing and conversion rate optimization overlap—once you’re measuring traffic, the natural next step is improving what you do with it.
If you’re ready to take this from a document to an actual campaign, here’s how I approach marketing strategy and execution for businesses.
A marketing plan doesn't have to be a 40-page document. It just needs to be specific enough to keep you focused and flexible enough to adjust when things change.
Everything in this post comes from actually building and running marketing plans, not from a textbook. The outline above is the same framework I've worked from. What you put in it is what makes it work for your business.
Start with where you are, get clear on where you want to go, and build from there.
by Cathy Gray | Aug 7, 2022 | Professional Articles, Business, Marketing
Before You Build a Marketing Strategy, Answer These Four Questions
Most businesses don't have a marketing strategy. They have a list of things they've tried or want to do.
They ran Facebook ads for a few months. They hired someone to post on Instagram. They redid the website. Some of it worked an some of it didn't. And when you ask why it didn't work, the answer usually starts with "Google ads didn't work, social media doesn't work..."
Those weren't strategies, they were tactics.
That's the strategy problem. And it's fixable.
Strategy vs. Tactics: What's the Difference?
A strategy is the plan and tactics are how you carry the plan out.
Advertising, email marketing, and social media work when they're built on a strategy: the right audience, the right message, a clear goal. Without that foundation, you're paying for clicks that go nowhere.
Strategy first. Tactics second. In that order.
Start Here
Before you pick a channel, hire anyone, or spend o marketing, answer these three questions.
Question 1: Where do you want to go?
What does success look like 12 months from now? Be specific. "More business" is not a goal you can build toward.
A landscaping business with three full-time and two part-time employees might answer: get to $1.2M in revenue so we can bring both part-time employees on full-time. That's specific. That's something you can build a marketing strategy around.
Question 2: Where are you now?
What is your current marketing actually doing? What's driving leads today?
That same landscaping business might say: we have a website and most new customers come from referrals. That tells you the website isn't generating leads on its own and word of mouth is carrying the business. Both things matter for what comes next.
Question 3: What have you tried before?
This one gets skipped constantly. Previous attempts, even failed ones, tell you something about your market and your capacity.
The landscaping business tried mailers to neighborhoods a few years ago and had an office admin handling social media at one point. Did the mailers work? Did social media move the needle? If you don't know why something stopped, you'll end up running the same experiment twice.
Question 4: Who is actually buying from you?
Not who you sell to. Who is most likely to buy, come back, and refer others?
The landscaping business looks at their customer list and sees mostly higher-end residential homeowners and a handful of commercial accounts. That's the target. Not every homeowner in a 20-mile radius. The ones most likely to spend, stay, and refer someone else.
Those four answers are your foundation. Everything else: channels, content, budget, who does the work, comes from there.
PDF DOWNLOAD : "4 Questions to Start Your Marketing Strategy" - one-page worksheet
This will open in another tab where you can save it and print it for your use.
Your Best Customer Is Already A Customer
Most small business owners will say they sell to everyone. The landscaping business we walked through earlier serves higher-end residential homeowners and a handful of commercial accounts. Both are customers. But they are not the same customer.
The residential homeowner calls once a season, sometimes haggles on price, and might not come back if a neighbor recommends someone cheaper. The commercial account is on a retainer. They show up on the schedule every time. The scope is defined, the work is consistent, and the customer service is straightforward.
When you look at revenue, time spent, and overhead side by side, the commercial account wins. That's the best customer. And they're already buying.
That's who your marketing should speak to. Not because you'll turn residential customers away, but because marketing that tries to reach everyone ends up reaching no one. If you want more commercial accounts, your marketing needs to talk to commercial accounts.
Look at your last 12 months. Which customers came back? Which ones were easiest to work with? Which ones brought in the most revenue without the most effort? That's your target, and they're already in your customer list.
What This Looks Like in Practice
When I was hired at Atlanta Rubber and Hydraulics, the directive from the owner was "Build us a website so customers can buy online."
The goal was simple. I was left to lay out the marketing strategy and execution from there.
Where did they want to go: online sales for commercial accounts who could order 24 hours a day in addition to phone and counter sales
Where were they now: ground zero with a work-in-progress eCommerce website
What had they tried: direct mail flyers and catalogs, email, and trade shows
Who was buying: industrial and commercial businesses that needed hoses, fittings, and hydraulic parts across agriculture, fabrication shops, wastewater, heavy machinery, and other verticals
The best existing customer was already using the internet and would rather place an order online than pick up a phone.
That customer existed across every vertical they served. The strategy was built around making it easy for them to find the site and complete an order without having to call.
That clarity shaped every decision from there. The product catalog was built around the buyers most likely to order online. Years later, that operation had generated $500,000 annually in eCommerce sales.
The strategy wasn't complicated. It started with knowing where we were going.
Go Deeper
These posts cover the channels and tactics that matter most for small and mid-size businesses:
If you're figuring out whether to hire an agency, a specialist, or one person who can run the whole function, this page breaks down what a full-stack marketer actually does.
by Cathy Gray | Apr 3, 2022 | Professional Articles, Marketing
Marketing Basics Price Product Promotion And Place
4 P’s of Marketing
The 4 P's aren't new. They've been around since the 1950's and you probably learned them in school. But they're easy to forget once you're deep in campaigns, dashboards, and day-to-day operations. This is a quick reminder: product, price, promotion, and place are still the foundation everything else is built on.
Marketing tactics and channels will change. These four principles won't.
As the example throughout the rest of the article, a kayak manufacturer will be used.
Product
This is what a business sells, either a physical item, a service, or both. From a marketing perspective, the following will need to be determined:
How many different product variations or product lines should be sold?
Our kayak manufacturer may have determined what kayak options they would bring to the market. Some variations may include: single or tandem (for two people), sit in or sit on, use of the kayak like fishing, rapids, seafaring. Colors, lengths and accessories can also fit into this category.
How should the product or service be packaged or presented?
Perhaps the manufacturer wants to market their kayaks for everyday families. So they make their marketing material relevant to families. While kayaks are generally long, they may have a specialty line for inflatable kayaks.
As a service, they may also offer credits for their customers if they want to upgrade their kayak and offer the returned kayaks as a demo for a more affordable price.
How will it be serviced?
The kayak manufacturer may have a warranty or satisfaction policy. They may also have an extensive website with detailed information on their kayaks and other products to allow their customers to understand every aspect of their kayak or accessories.
Sometimes marketers might have involvement in products are design and which features are included based on their market research.
Price
A product's or service's price isn't just “how much stuff costs". There is more to think about than that.
If marketing is all about driving profitable action, then prices need to be set at a level the market will support.
Here are some marketing considerations with prices that the kayak company will need to consider:
What is the market rate per unit of a product?
Pricing policies requires market analysis and competitive research to determine what is a fair price for a product while considering production costs and what consumers are willing to pay. If the kayak is sold at high prices, does it match with its perceived value
How should discounts be applied and timed?
The kayak manufacturer may have promotional activities and/or promotional pricing for its partnered retailers. Should the product be put on sale at certain times of year?
Does it make sense to give customers options for payments?
A retailer for the kayak may offer financing options through their website with the help of 3rd party payment processors or other payment plans.
However the kayaks and accessories are priced, as long as they are at the right price for the customer needs, they will be purchased.
Promotion
If a product is launched but no one sees it, does it exist? Technically it does, but only taking up space.
If there is a new kayak design or accessory, it needs to be marketed so customers know it exists.
Which channels will be used to promote the product?
A marketing channel the way the product or service is being marketed from the start at the company to end at the intended consumer.
This includes online and offline channels.
Some examples of traditional marketing include: print, television, and radio. For our kayak company, television or radio may not be optimal, but printed brochures or promotional displays at outdoor fitters may work instead.
Where will it be promoted?
Online promotions include social media and Google Ads for example, but are not limited to these. Offline promotions include the traditional marketing tactics that were previously discussed. It also includes in stores promoting and at relevant events.
What message needs to be communicated?
The text, images, and imagery that is used will to tell the audience what the product is all about, and encourage them to buy it.
Some examples of the promotion strategies may include, email marketing, content marketing, or advertising with local groups that have active families.
Place
The right product needs to be in the right place for customers to find it and purchase it.
How you get the product in front of people is where marketing strategy comes in—and there are several frameworks worth understanding before choosing your channels.
Where is the product distributed?
Online then shipped or sold in retail locations.
As far as retail locations, will it be big box, like Cabela's or Academy Sports.
Will specific locations get the product?
For example, the kayaks wouldn't be sold in areas that are typically frozen year round. That wouldn't make sense at all and would be a complete waste of time, money, and resources.
Conclusion
The 4 P’s give you a framework for thinking—but turning that thinking into action is what a marketing plan is for. Here’s how to build one.
If you’re applying this to your own business and want expert support, here’s what I offer.
The 4 P's aren't glamorous. They don't make for flashy conference talks or viral LinkedIn posts. But they work. If a strategy isn't landing, going back to basics and running through these four questions usually reveals where something got missed.
It's a framework worth keeping in your back pocket.
