Blog Post

Every business needs a solid marketing plan, but do you know how to go about creating one for your organization? It’s probably not as difficult as you might think. Here’s how you can create a marketing plan for your organization.

Know your business

What do you want to achieve with your business? Are you aiming to gain new customers, appeal to existing ones, or something else entirely? The first step in creating a marketing plan is to identify what you want to achieve for your organization. This means starting with a look at where you are currently, then creating a list of smart, attainable goals for your business.

Know your target audience

You can’t market effectively if you don’t understand your target audience. This means you need to know what they want, what they like and dislike, and what they expect from your business. Create a brief profile of your target customer–their age, their relationship status, their basic demographics–and build your marketing strategy around that.

Choose your marketing strategy

This is the fun part–you decide how to reach your target audience using whatever tools you have at your disposal. Are you going to try outdoor advertising in the form of billboards or mini-billboards? Maybe you want to send out postcards or host a giveaway using personalized gifts from your organization.

Whatever you do, you need to make sure you address your various customers according to your relationship with them. In other words, you’ll use one strategy to meet and attract new customers, but you’ll use another to market to existing customers. Take time to identify the different ways that you will address the varying levels of customer relationships and build your plan accordingly.

Know your budget

Your strategy won’t work if you can’t afford to pay for the marketing tools you need. Be realistic when you set your budget and consider your ROI as well as the initial marketing costs. You have to consider your long and short-term plans when setting your budget. Start with what you can afford now, then expand your budget as you see success.

For more tips on creating a marketing plan, contact Postcard Portables today.