12 Steps to a Successful Business & Marketing Plan

Creating a Business Plan is essential to your business success. Your Business Plan should be the guidebook you utilize throughout the life of your business, it should also be a working document that can be changed as your business grows and expands. Did you know that if you write it down, you are seven times more likely to complete your plan than if you didn't write it down?

Prepare a Marketing Plan, it is key to the outcome of your future success and updating it every year should be one of your main priorities.

Are you working your Business or just working in your Business?

 LET’S GET STARTED…

1.      Write all your goals on a notepad using a time frame as your compass and then write them on a calendar, find a large desk calendar. Specific dates provide a baseline for your goals.

Use SMART Goals:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time Bound

2.       Find an easy to use Business Plan Template: You can find them all over the internet but I prefer the simplicity of SCORE.org Business Plan for a Startup Business. This Business Plan template is a generic model suitable for almost any business, you will just need to modify it to suit your business needs.
3.      Write all of your Marketing Plan ideas down then chose the avenues that best suit your needs and your budget. Figure out what your yearly Marketing budget will be and the stick to your budget and be very specific with your advertising partners, make them work together as a team; use them to help you create your brand. Always bargain for their services, any good advertising venue will have a wide variety of offers to suit almost any budget. Make a list of Advertising venues you will advertise in:
Traditional Advertising

•   Yellow pages
• Newspaper
• Magazines (write articles and submit for publishing)
•  TV
• Radio
• Mass Mailings

Social Media Advertising

• Website
• Facebook
• Online E-Mailing
• Blogging(you are the expert so share your knowledge)
• Pinterest
• Instagram

4.      Find your brand, or at least begin to explore your brand, this is an extension of you and it is very important to your success. Be very specific, think about one or two areas of expertise that you do best and then hone those skills or products and use them to become your brand. Remember too many options begin to cloud the waters and are harder to promote.
5.      Consider your Business name and logo. Logo, Name and Brand will go hand-in-hand. They are one and the same and need to have a great feel and flow.
6.      Join or attend organizations where you get exposure and can become a guest speaker where you get exposure and can provide valuable content. Provide information that is relevant, you are the expert so share one or two items of your business expertise.
·         Hold a monthly seminar or class
·         Have a class on specific topics giving tips and ideas
·         Invite guest speakers to share their expertise
·         Have a contest for the best (whatever) and then use the winner as a new service or product or idea in your shop. Name that product or service after the contest winner. The winner and her friends and family will be customers for life.  They will also make referrals forever.
7.      Be proactive and always get email addresses and business cards, then get them into a spreadsheet or a directory. This is the beginning of your marketing plan and the one area that costs nothing to create but usually has the most success. Set aside a couple hours per week to sit down and think about or discuss your upcoming marketing and business plan. Find a marketing guru to help you get started and use them as your sounding board.
8.      Create a networking group. Find people who believe in you and your product and let others help you build your business.
Network, Network, Network.
9.      Use your calendar to prepare for the seasonal selling. You know the market better than everyone else, so be prepared for it and start marketing it well in advance of the season. Be prepared so that you are ahead of the game and not behind.
10.    Create a Marketing Partnership. Example:  Maybe a local wine bar has a monthly wine tasting event. Offer to make the Chocolate covered strawberries and serve them with your business logo attached in some form. People are foodies and they love to see elegant items surrounding their favorite past time. Whatever you do always have your name and logo attached or displayed.
11.   Social Media Matters: I assume you do some form of social media but you need to embrace it and make it a part of your everyday life for at least 10 minutes per day. This is a tool to market your weekly special or your new idea or just post one picture per day of the beautiful cake you created for a wedding or an event. People remember what they see.
·         Facebook (5 Valuable Facebook Marketing Tips)
·         Linkedin
·         Twitter
·         Blogging
·         Email
·         Pinterest
·         Instagram
12.  Create a Loyalty Program: Never forget about your past and current customers. Discounts are a great bonus for loyal customers and people feel special when they get a certificate or a free items or treatment that comes in the mail or email specifically addressed to them.

Doing a business and marketing plan requires time and effort, but your success and your future depend on you taking the time to create your own success. Time is just relative when you work to be the best in your business.

Cheers!

Toni