Establish a plan.

That sounds stupid and obvious, but it is the one thing that (in my experience) many companies that are struggling a little at the moment, don’t do.

I am not a believer in a detailed plan stretching on for the rest of the year which can only be changed in the case of emergencies, but I do believe in knowing the sort of approach one is adopting.

So, for example, here’s a simple plan (it doesn’t apply to everyone but it is an example of the sort of thing that I mean).

  1. Send out emails to get people to request a free sample, a trial run, a catalogue, a report, or anything else free.
  2. Take those people’s email addresses and drop them into a program that does bulk emailing.
  3. Email those people every week with more information, advice, guidance, tips, and of course adverts relating to your product.
  4. Based on the success of a), do further promotions of free materials in order to get success.

That’s a very simple plan, and obviously not one that is viable for every business, but it is a plan that can work, and work very well. Of course, make sure that your data you collect is secure with a quick download of a suitable antivirus and installing it on your work computer. It would really put a stop in the works of instigating your marketing plan if your potential customers'/advocates' personal emails are hacked. If in doubt, get more advice on building an email list from as many different sources as possible.

There are hundreds of variations, and hundreds of different types of plans, but in my view the key issue is often not a case of which plan, but the fact that there is no consistent marketing plan at all.

But here’s a challenge – if you would like to talk about developing a marketing plan, and if you have a spare 15 minutes, give me a call. In complete confidence we can have a chat and I’ll give you my thoughts. Consider it a free consultancy offer. (I regret to say that sometimes I am out of the office or in meetings, but if I am not here I will call you back – promise!)

You never know – it might result in you getting one little nugget of information that really could change the way you see marketing.

And if not, you’ve only lost 15 minutes.