I wrote my first marketing plan in 1997 for a small graphic design shop. Despite being only a few years out of school, the plan was appreciated and utilized by my client. Nearly 25 years later, I developed my second marketing plan, building on years of marketing experience. In the months after finalizing, implementing and measuring the new marketing plan’s efficacy, I realized the knowledge I gained was worthy of sharing. In this article, I’ve outlined best practices that will maximize the impact of your marketing plan.
Measure what matters
While most marketing plans I’ve seen have elementary metrics and associated targets that support foundational objectives, too often the metrics are inadequate. To get a complete view of marketing’s impact on revenue, consider a comprehensive set of key performance indicators that address every stage of the customer journey and sales funnel. I’ve found that breaking down KPIs into three primary buckets (awareness and reach, interest and engagement, and leads or sales) makes it easier to report appropriate metrics based on key constituents’ (ownership, operations, sales and finance) priorities.
Validate legacy thinking
My experience as a marketing vendor has shed light on one area often overlooked by startups as well as mature organizations. After going through the trouble of creating brand guidelines or a style guide, developing buyer personas and refining a messaging stack, organizations often fail to revisit this documentation on a regular basis (I suggest annually at a minimum.) As a result, marketing plans are based on outdated information. To address this issue, I recommend using existing documentation as a starting point, which you can validate with fresh market research and business intelligence. With COVID-19 pandemic and economic uncertainty, buyer behavior has changed dramatically and permanently in just the past three years.
Leverage the premortem
Business professionals are familiar with postmortems when evaluating program success, and marketers should be no exception. The postmortem process is particularly helpful when building a new marketing plan. However, one twist I rarely see utilized in the planning process is the concept of a “premortem.”
In simple terms, a premortem involves identifying factors that may negatively impact the success of a marketing plan. The resulting discussion helps anticipate and navigate possible roadblocks down the road. More than just a “CYA” move, roadblocks identified during a premortem can be reframed as assumptions or dependencies that impact the marketing plans’ ultimate success, along with suggested mitigation strategies.
Think customer-centric
Another obstacle for both startups and mature organizations is a lack of perspective. Startups lack experience interacting with customers, while larger companies can lose touch with their customers as the organization increases in size and complexity.
When developing messaging frameworks, marketing strategies and supporting tactics, make sure everything is filtered through the customer lens. For example, foundational marketing plan disciplines (offline and online advertising and sponsorships, public relations, content marketing, direct response, events and promotions) need to be revisited based on customer behaviors, biases and preferences.
Don’t overthink it
I love to write and I typically default to being thorough in my communications. But I’ve learned that a significant majority of plans my teams have created over the years are rarely referenced or updated after initial creation and approval. I elected to learn from that insight when building the marketing plan at my current company and utilized a PowerPoint slide format. The bulleted approach allowed me to develop the plan quickly, keep it high-level and easily evolve based on feedback.
Consider a tiered approach
Most corporate marketing plans are built by a team, rather than an individual. As mentioned previously, soliciting and incorporating input from various parties can be highly impactful, but it does slow down the process. One workaround I’ve used to ensure leadership support and approval while keeping the process moving is a tiered approach.
As CMO at a previous employer, I developed the overarching plan, focusing on the customer perspective and soliciting input from leadership and other departments. Once the top-level plan was finalized, I engaged the subject matter experts on the marketer team (SEO, digital advertising, copywriting, design, etc.) to develop plans for their discipline-specific channels which then rolled up to the overall marketing objectives. This approach provided a critical layer of strategic and tactical detail necessary for proper execution and management while keeping to our aggressive timeline.
Create healthy habits
A brilliantly crafted marketing plan is only as good as its implementation. Ensure proper implementation through regular check-ins with the marketing team. I recommend the following meeting cadence:
- 5- to 10-minute weekly huddles focusing on tactical execution and roadblocks
- 30- to 60-minute monthly reporting reviews to understand progress towards goals based on KPIs
- 1-to 2-hour quarterly deep dives focusing on strategy
- Annual 2-to-8-hour planning sessions to discuss changes in the company, product line, marketplace or other global factors
Successful implementation relies on clear communications, collaboration, and accurate measurement, but mostly, meeting discipline.
Embrace accountability
A common complaint I hear from clients and management regarding marketing programs is a lack of accountability. Lazy but clever marketers constantly change goals, strategies, and tactics to avoid accountability. I find this deeply frustrating and appreciate that my current company values transparency and accountability with its clients. The same should be true for your marketing team and its plan. Don’t be afraid to hold appropriate parties accountable for any mistakes or shortfalls, while helping navigate challenges and learning from failures through postmortems. Successful marketing is ultimately a team effort, so share both successes and failures.
Concluding thoughts
Creating, implementing and managing a marketing plan requires patience, discipline, and curiosity. Smart marketers are always testing theories, innovative ideas, technology, and tactics. Even if you have a marketing plan in place, it’s always prudent to revisit the plan, no less than annually. Today’s economy and your own industry are dynamic in nature, which requires your marketing plan to adapt accordingly.
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
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