Copyright
2009
by
BBlackwood




 
 
 
 Copyright
holder
is
licensing
this
under
the
Creative
Commons,
Attribution
3.0


 
 
 
 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us




 
 






 
 
 
 Please
feel
free
to
post
this
on
your
blog
or
email
it
or
tweet
about
it
to
whomever
you



 
 
 
 feel
might
benefit
from
reading
it.
Thanks!




 
 
 
 If
you
do
reprint
content
from
this
report
I’d
appreciate
an
attribution
link
to:



 
 
 
 $mart
Marketing
On
Any
Budget
–
www.smartmarketing4.me



 2

 CONTENTS





 
 
 
 WHY
to
Write
a
Marketing
Plan
 
 
 
 
 Pg. 5






 
 
 
 1.

Describe
Your
Situation
 
 
 
 
 
 Pg. 8






 
 
 
 2.

Define
Your
Position

 
 
 
 
 
 Pg. 12






 
 
 
 3.

Determine
Your
Marketing
Message
 
 
 
 Pg. 17






 
 
 
 4.

Decide
Your
Tactics
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pg. 19






 
 
 
 5.

Detail
Your
Goals
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pg. 22





 
 
 
 The
Bottom
Line
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pg. 25




 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 About
the
Author

 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pg. 27





 3

 





“If
the
circus
is
coming
to
town
and
you
paint
a
sign
saying
“Circus Coming to the
Fairground Saturday,”
that's
advertising.
If
you
put
the
sign
on
the
back
of
an
elephant







and
walk
it
into
town,
that's
promotion.
If
the
elephant
walks
through
the
mayor's
flower







bed,
that's
publicity.
And
if
you
get
the
mayor
to
laugh
about
it,
that's
public
relations.
If







the
town's
citizens
go
to
the
circus,
you
show
them
the
many
entertainment
booths,







explain
how
much
fun
they'll
have
spending
money
at
the
booths,
answer
their


 questions
and
ultimately,
they
spend
a
lot
at
the
circus,
that's
sales.”




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 P.T.
Barnum










 
 
 
 “If
you
have
a
written
guide
to
help
you
do
all
of
the
above,
that’s
a
marketing
plan.”






 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 BBlackwood



 4

 WHY To Write A Marketing Plan


If
you
set
out
on
a
journey,
wouldn’t
it
be
helpful
to
know
where
you
were
going?
And

after
you
decided
where
you
were
going,
wouldn’t
it
be
smart
to
have
a
map
showing

how
to
get
there?



Of
course.







 A
marketing
plan
is
the
map
and
the
guidebook
for
getting
your
business
or


o


organization,
group
or
enterprise
to
three
crucial
destinations:



• Knowledge of your enterprise by your target audience

• Trial by your best prospects
• And – if backed by good quality and service – preference for your offering




Big
corporations
with
dozens
of
product
lines
may
require
a
thick,
data‐stuffed

marketing
plan
detailing
everything
from
securing
raw
materials
to
transportation

and
distribution
strategies;
most
moderate‐sized
enterprises
don’t.







 5


 
 
 
 But
any
enterprise
–
whether
a
business,
a
non‐profit,
a
group,
organization
or
even
a


 
 
 
 politician
or
entertainer
–
can
profit
from
having
a
solid
marketing
plan.




 
 
 
 And
can
lose
profit
by
not
having
one.




 
 
 
 Research
shows
that
small
businesses
with
actionable
marketing
plans
show
a
20% -
30% increase in sales versus
businesses
without
them.







 
 
 
 If
your
enterprise
has
stockholders
or
other
important
stakeholders,
or
if
you’re
seeking


 
 
 
 major
funding,
you’d
be
well‐advised
to
create
a
very
detailed
business
and
marketing


 
 
 
 plans.
You
can
find
a
good
tutorial
at:
http://www.knowthis.com/tutorials/principles‐of‐

 
 
 
 marketing/how‐to‐write‐a‐marketing‐plan.htm/




 
 
 
 If
you’re
a
smaller
business
or
group
–
one
with
a
limited
budget
of
time
and
money
–


 
 
 
 this
book
will
show
you
how
to
develop
a
smart
marketing
plan
in
just
about
five
hours.


 
 
 
 It’s
broken
into
bite‐sized
chunks
so
you
can
do
it
over
a
few
days
if
you
like.
Or
you
can


 
 
 
 launch
ahead
and
get
it
knocked
out
between
lunch
and
supper.





 6


 
 
 
 Either
way,
when
it’s
done
you
will
have
a
much
clearer
vision
for
where
you
want
to
go


 
 
 
 with
your
enterprise
and
how
to
get
there.







 



 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 






 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 Ready
to
get
started?
Grab
some
paper
and
something
to
write
with
and
let’s
get
to
it.


 
 
 




 
 




 
 
 







For more money-smart marketing tips, go to: www.smartmarketing4.me


 7



Describe Your Situation (One hour)



 

No
entity
exists
in
a
vacuum,
of
course.
It
will
be
affected
by
the
conditions
of
the

 

marketplace
in
which
it
seeks
to
compete
and
the
competition
in
that
marketplace.




So,
the
first
questions
you
need
to
answer
are
these:



 
 
 • What is the market environment in which you operate?

• Who are your competitors in this market?

 
 



This
is
often
called
the
Situation
Analysis
or
Market
Analysis.
Take
about
45
minutes

and
answer
the
following
questions
as
fully
as
you
can.




NOTE:
For
the
sake
of
simplicity,
we’ll
refer
to
your
“company”
and
“product”
throughout

 

this
document.
If
yours
is
a
different
kind
of
entity,
say
a
church
or
rock
band,
simply


substitute
the
correct
nouns
to
describe
what
you
do
and
what
you
are
promoting.







 8

 A. Market Environment



 
 
 
 i.

What
are
the
economic
factors
that
will
affect
our
company
or
product
in



 
 
 
 



the
next
year?





 
 
 
 
 This
might
include:




 
 
 
 
 •

Economic
condition
of
the
country
and
world




 
 
 
 
 •
Strength
of
our
industry




 
 
 
 
 •
Cost
of
energy
or
raw
materials,
etc.






 
 
 
 ii.

Are
there
important
external
factors
that
will
impact
our
market?




 
 
 
 
 •
Legal
factors?




 
 
 
 
 •
Political
factors?




 
 
 
 iii.

Are
there
other
factors
beyond
our
control
that
will
affect
our
market?





 9

 B. Competitive Environment



 
 
 
 i.

Who
are
our
business
competitors?





 
 
 
 
 •
List
their
names




 
 
 
 
 •
Addresses




 
 
 
 
 •
Years
in
business




 
 
 
 
 •
Their
market
share




 
 
 
 
 •
Pricing
strategy




 
 
 
 
 •
IMPORTANT:
The
strongest
attributes
they
bring
to
the
market




 
 
 
 ii.

What
are
our
strengths
and
weaknesses
compared
to
the
competition?





 
 
 
 
 •
Name
recognition




 
 
 
 
 •
Locations




 
 
 
 
 •
Services
offered





 10


 
 
 
 
 •
Resources




 
 
 
 
 •
Expertise
of
staff,
etc.






 
 
 
 Once
you’ve
answered
those
questions,
take
15
minutes
to
write
up
the
responses



 
 
 
 in
the
form
of
a
concise
synopsis
or
overview.
Don’t
worry
about
trying
to
make



 
 
 
 this
a
literary
masterpiece
–
it’s
a
working
document
that
may
get
(probably
should



 
 
 
 get)
refined
and
updated
as
time
goes
on.





 
 
 
 Just
get
your
thoughts
down
on
paper.





 
 
 
 Now
you’re
20%
closer
to
your
goal
of
having
a
smart
marketing
plan!










For more money-smart marketing tips, go to: www.smartmarketing4.me


 11

 Define Your Position (One hour)




Trout
and
Reis
introduced
the
term
positioning,
as
applied
to
marketing,
in
their


famous
book
Positioning:
The
Battle
For
Your
Mind.
If
you
haven’t
read
it,
you

 

really
should.


Essentially,
positioning
refers
to
the
process
by
which
an
enterprise
creates
an
image
or

identity
in
the
minds
of
target
consumers
for
its
product,
brand,
or
organization.
It
is
the

relative
competitive
comparison
a
product
occupies
in
a
given
market
as
perceived
by

the
target
customer.



In
other
words,
it
defines
the
unique
benefit
your
product
or
service
offers
your

customers
versus
your
competitors’
product
or
service.
Traditionally,
this
has
often

been
called
your
USP
or
unique
selling
proposition.



Volvo’s
traditional
position
has
been
built
on
safety.
McDonald’s
position
is
one
of




 consistency.
Coca
Cola’s
position
has
always
been
about
refreshment.


 

In
this
section
of
your
marketing
plan,
we
start
to
define
your
competitive
position.

There
are
two
parts
to
that
–




 
 12

 • Defining your target customer
• Defining your market niche



 
 
 
 Take
another
45
minutes
to
answer
these
questions
as
clearly
as
you
can:


A. Who are our best potential customers?






 
 
 
 
 i.

Who
needs
what
we
offer
the
most?




 
 
 
 
 
 •
The
private
sector
(B2C)?



 
 
 
 
 
 •
Other
businesses
(B2B)?



 
 
 
 
 
 •
Wholesalers?



 
 
 
 
 
 •
Retailers?



 
 
 
 
 
 •
Affiliates
or
network
marketers?



 
 
 
 
 
 •
The
government?




 
 
 
 
 
 NOTE:
It
may
be
a
mix
of
several;
try
to
estimate
the
percentages
of
sales


 
 
 
 
 
 each
will
represent.


 13


 
 
 
 
 ii.
How
will
we
target
customers?




 
 
 
 
 
 •
By
geographic
area?




 
 
 
 
 
 •
By
industry?




 
 
 
 
 
 •
By
product
or
service
line?


 
 
 
 
 iii.
How
much
will
our
selected
market
spend
on
our
type
of
product



 
 
 
 
 or
service
in
one
year?




 
 
 
 B. What is our most competitive market niche?




 
 
 
 Use
the
strengths
and
weaknesses
listed
in
section
one
to
answer:




 
 
 
 
 ii.
What
unique
and
memorable
position
can
we
“own”
in
the
minds



 
 
 
 
 of
our
target
consumer?





 
 
 
 
 
 •
Less
expensive?


 
 
 
 
 
 •
Higher
quality?





 14


 
 
 
 
 
 •
More
convenient?





 
 
 
 
 
 •
Faster?




 
 
 
 
 
 •
Safer?




 
 
 
 
 
 •
Bigger?




 
 
 
 
 
 •
Smaller?






 
 
 
 
 ii.
Which
features
of
our
product
best
illustrate
that
position?




 
 
 
 
 Choose
two
or
three
at
most;
one
strong
one
is
even
better.



 
 
 
 
 iii.
How
will
our
pricing
reinforce
our
chosen
position?




 
 
 
 
 
 •
Cheaper?




 
 
 
 
 
 •
More
expensive
and
exclusive?




 
 
 
 
 
 •
Easier
terms?



 
 
 
 
 iii.
What
customer
services
will
we
offer
to
reinforce
our
position?




 15


 
 
 
 Once
you’ve
answered
those
questions,
take
15
minutes
to
write
up
the
responses
in
the


 
 
 
 form
of
a
concise
synopsis
or
overview.
Again,
don’t
aim
for
an
MBA
dissertation
–
just


 
 
 
 get
it
down
on
paper.




 
 
 
 Now
you’re
40%
done
with
your
smart
marketing
plan!






















For more money-smart marketing tips, go to: www.smartmarketing4.me


 16

 Determine Your Marketing Message (One hour)


Using
the
information
from
the
last
section,
take
45
minutes
to
dream
up
an
answer


to
this
one
question:



What is the shortest, simplest, most compelling sentence to sum up what
we offer versus our competitors?



 Don’t
censor
yourself
or
agonize
over
clever
wording.
Just
scribble
down
as
many


 variations
of
the
basic
idea
as
you
can
churn
out
in
30
minutes.
Make
no
judgments


 yet,
just
let
it
flow.


 

Then
take
15
more
minutes
and
see
if
you
can
simplify
and
clarify
the
message



even
more.
Try
to
remove
any
word
that
is
not
100%
necessary
to
express



your
product
or
company’s
strongest
benefit.





 17


 
 
 
 Some
examples
to
inspire
you:




Miller Light: Great Taste, Less Filling




FedEx: When It Absolutely, Positively Has To Be There Overnight




iPod: 5,000 Songs In Your Hand






 
 
 
 Now,
choose
the
best
and
clearest
version
you
have
come
up
with
and
spend
15
minutes


 
 
 
 writing
a
short
synopsis
explaining
your
choice.


This will be the basic selling proposition you will use in all your marketing.



 
 
 
 And
now
you’re
more
than
halfway
to
having
your
marketing
plan
complete!








For more money-smart marketing tips, go to: www.smartmarketing4.me


 18




Decide Your Tactics (One hour)





Using
the
insights
you
have
put
down
so
far,
take
45
minutes
to
answer
these







 

three
questions:



A. What mediums would most likely reach our target customers?



 
 •
Television?





 
 •
Radio?



 




 
 
 •
Consumer
magazines?



 


 
 
 •
Trade
publications?



 


 
 
 •
Email?









 
 
 •
Blogs?



 


 
 
 •
Websites?





 
 •
Outdoor
billboards
or
signs?







 19


 
 
 
 
 
 •
Direct
mail?





 
 
 
 
 
 •
Seminars?




 
 
 
 
 
 •
Trade
shows?




 
 
 
 IMPORTANT:
Be
specific
as
to
exact
publications
or
stations
or
events.






B. Which of those mediums would be the most cost-effective for us to use

this year? Don’t
spread
yourself
too
thin,
its
better
to
use
one
or
two
mediums



 
 
 
 consistently
than
five
or
six
sporadically.





C. What other tactics will we use?



 
 
 
 
 
 •
Free
samples?





 
 
 
 
 
 •
A
contest?





 
 
 
 
 
 •
Coupons?



 20


 
 
 
 
 
 •
Sales
literature?





 
 
 
 
 
 •
Product
placement?





 
 
 
 
 
 •
Speeches?









 
 
 
 Now,
take
15
minutes
to
draft
a
concise
section
explaining
your
choice
of
tactics.





 
 
 
 And
you’re
80%
closer
to
having
a
marketing
plan!


















For more money-smart marketing tips, go to: www.smartmarketing4.me


 21



Detail Your Goals (One hour)


The
last
section
is
about
your
goals.
You
need
to
estimate
as
realistically
as
you
can

what
you
expect
to
achieve
through
the
marketing
activity
described
in
the
other

sections.
Remember
the
old
business
maxim:
What
can’t
be
measured,
can’t
be
managed.



Smart
marketers
set
SMART goals
that
are:




 •
Specific


 


 
 •
Measurable


 




 •
Actionable




 


 
 •
Realistic


 


 
 •
Time‐sensitive


 








 Take
45
more
minutes
to
answer
these
questions
honestly
and
specifically:


 





 22

 A. What results do we expect from our marketing this year?

 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 •
Sales
revenue?




 
 
 
 
 •
Number
of
new
customers?




 
 
 
 
 •
Units
sold?




 
 
 
 
 •
Increase
in
market
share?





B. How will we measure success or lack of it?





 
 
 
 
 •
Gross
sales?





 
 
 
 
 •
Net
revenues?





 
 
 
 
 •
Number
of
sales
calls
set?





 
 
 
 
 •
Inquiries?





 23




 
 
 
 C. What milestones or timeline will we use to gauge progress?



 
 
 
 You
must
give
the
program
time
to
work
but
you
must
also
know
when
to
change



 
 
 
 tactics
if
necessary.




 
 
 
 When
you
have
answered
those
important
questions
–
and
written
the
results
up
in
a


 
 
 
 synopsis
–
you
will
have
a
solid
plan
that
you
can
rely
upon
to
guide
your
marketing



 
 
 
 journey
for
the
next
year.




 
 
 
 Congratulations!




 
 
 
 But
there
is
one
more
important
thing
you
need
to
establish,
now
that
you
know



 
 
 
 where
you’re
going:
How
much
it
is
going
to
cost
to
get
there?










For more money-smart marketing tips, go to: www.smartmarketing4.me


 24

 The Bottom Line



 
 
 
 Most
fully
fleshed‐out
marketing
plans
contain
a
budget
section.
Many
start
with
them
–


 
 
 
 at
least
in
mind.
“We
have
X
amount
we
can
spend
on
marketing,
so
here’s
what
we
can


 
 
 
 afford
to
do.”




 
 
 
 That’s
getting
things
backward.
A
smart
marketing
plan
first
determines
what
you



 
 
 
 SHOULD
do.
Only
then
do
decide
financially
what
you
can
spend
to
achieve
your
goals.




 
 
 
 Establishing
a
marketing
budget
is
not
rocket
science
–
but
there
are
quite
a
few
different


 
 
 
 methods
you
can
use
to
do
it.
So,
I
didn’t
include
that
section
in
our
Five
Hour



 
 
 
 Marketing
Plan.




 
 
 
 However,
if
you
have
another
hour
or
so,
I
will
show
you
the
most
popular
methods
in
a


 
 
 
 BONUS
book
called
Seven
Ways
to
Set
a
Smart
Marketing
Budget.
 



 25

 If
a
copy
wasn’t
sent

with
this
report,


request
a
copy:

mailto:bb@smartmarketing4.me 



 
 
 
 




 
 
 
 And,
if
you
want
to
discover
the
most
effective
and
cost‐effective
marketing
ideas


 
 
 
 and
tactics
available
to
you
and
your
company,
subscribe
to
my
FREE
newsletter


 
 
 
 $mart
Marketing
On
Any
Budget
–
www.smartmarketing4.me.






 
 
 
 Cheers!





 
 
 
 BB



 26


 About the Author


For
over
30
years,
Boyd
Blackwood
has
been
active
in
the
fields
of
advertising,

marketing,
public
relations
and
sales.



He
founded
his
first
advertising
agency
at
the
age
of
25
and
was
senior
vice
president

and
creative
director
of
a
large
marketing
firm
in
the
southwest
for
14
years.





 Among
his
favorite
accomplishments
are
creating
corporate
names
for
national

companies
such
as
StaffMark
and
naming
the
national
program
AmeriCorps.
He
also



created
the
official
souvenir
books
for
two
U.S.
presidential
inaugurations.
Creative




 
 
 work
by
him
and
his
teams
has
won
National
ADDY
Awards
and
been
featured
in
the


 
 Clios,
Adweek
and
Advertising
Age
Magazine.




 


 Today,
he
helps
clients
through
his
virtual
agency,
Blackwood
&
Company,
and
assists




 and
inspires
other
marketers
through
his
blog
$mart
Marketing
on
Any
Budget
–




 www.smartmarketing4.me/


 





 27





 28