Market Planning & Strategy Consulting Service

Well, we would like to think that every business has a strategic marketing plan but sadly, this is one of those things that is often left by the wayside in lieu of other important aspects of running a business. We know it takes time, it needs to be updated periodically, and may or may not work in the end… but it still needs to be done. But why?

A reality of a strategic marketing plan is that it forces a business owner to sit down and think about how they want to reach their target audience. With so many options out there, from SEO to PPC, social media to direct mail, a business can go bankrupt trying to tackle them all. We are here to simplify things. So what do we bring to the table? Experience, tools and resources. We have access to the data that you need to make an informed decision.

So what is important? We are really going to over-simplify this, but let’s start with creating some goals. Are you trying to hit a specific revenue goal? Number of jobs or products sold? First, we have to understand what you are working towards to understand how we are going to get there.

Next, we need to understand and define who is your target audience. If your target market is teens, aged 13 – 18, then we are going to suggest different platforms than someone who is 65+. When defining your target audience, don’t be afraid to get granular, you’re not going to offend anyone. The truth is, if you are a service-based business like a plumber, your target would likely be an adult, aged 50+. Why? Because that age bracket is likely in their highest income earning years, or retired with disposable income, and a homeowner.

That doesn’t mean that you won’t work with someone who is 25, it just means that your target or preferred audience is 50+ and owns a home.

Once we understand who are target audience is, it is easier to determine how we are going to reach them. Using the 50+ example, statistically they are more than likely on Facebook for social, they will likely do research before hiring a company so we need to make sure your website is on point, and they tend to split their use of digital properties like Google/Bing with print publications like the newspaper or Yellow Pages. Now we can make better decisions on where to invest your marketing budget.

Lastly, once we have put a few more things down on paper, it is time to implement and monitor your. Despite popular belief, at marketing plan is like a living breathing document. It evolves over time. If you had social media ads in your marketing plans at $500 per month. If that isn’t generating an ROI, then you might want to reconsider where you are spending that money. Maybe you can move it to PPC or direct mail? The point here is that you need to track your campaigns progress to make sure that your marketing dollar is delivering the best ROI possible. If you change something, you need to update your strategic marketing plan.