Over the last couple of years, I have had several intense discussions with several budding entrepreneurs and CEOs of mid-size companies. They all seem to want the best marketing plan, but they are not sure, when and how to start implementing it.

How do you create the best marketing plan?

A marketing plan is prepared, based on the revenue objectives of the organization and is usually a balancing act based on the budgets that can be made available to achieve the objectives. It is also continually adjusted to match the actual revenues realized by the company. The best marketing plan makes optimum use of the resources available and ensures that you have presence across multiple channels and are continuously achieving objectives.

Depending on the product/service and organization requirements, it may consist elements of sales strategy definition, website strategy, Marketing automation tools, presence across several additional channels including social media and other print and digital media. It may also include several processes and frameworks that need to be in place. It will include Lead capture & Lead nurture mechanisms to be deployed, Forms in which marketing collateral should be available, Premium content to support your marketing content needs, Social media engagement to engage with your target audience, definition of sales process and a robust review framework, Media strategy, Events plan, Corporate branding, Analyst relations, Investor relations etc..

Even if you made your best attempt, you will never be able to get to the best marketing plan. Based on your experience, you will be able to tweak your marketing plan to keep meeting organizational requirements. Also customer facing feedback and sales feedback will only make your plan more robust and stronger. Get to a plan that reasonably meets your requirements and start executing.. That’s the key to success.

You might also want to read ‘Why leads are the common metric in marketing’

Best,

Atul Dhakappa