Posted on: 5th Oct. 2022

A marketing plan is a crucial factor in growing a business. The type of marketing content you require will vary depending on your sector, the size of your operation, available resources and the service you provide, however, the value of a good marketing plan is universal.

Your company may not have an in-house marketing department. In such cases, external support may be required. We’re sharing how implementing the right marketing plan can help scale your business and achieve consistent growth.

1. You focus on your target market

A key aspect of any marketing strategy is the careful consideration of your target market. The marketing of your service will be more effective if you have considered your ideal demographic and what will appeal to them. Pinpointing your ideal customer is crucial in understanding how to effectively engage your audience.

This will also dictate the tone of your marketing content. Your content should be conveyed in a way that appeals to your audience, so the tone, formality and the content itself should be carefully crafted to appeal to your target market. If your team doesn't have the resources or capacity to carry out detailed market research, we offer a range of options, implementing focus groups, interviews and surveys to help you understand your clients – both existing and new.

Once you have defined your ideal client, consider their pain point - how is your service or product solving their problem? Content that explains how your service or product will solve a problem or fulfil a need is much more effective than simply outlining its general benefits.

2. You consider the “why”.

When it comes to planning marketing content, your initial considerations should focus on why your target demographic will want to consume your marketing content. After all, the first step is to engage your target market so they will actively want to learn more about what you offer.

Advertising content is abundant online, and your initial task will be to “stop the scroll”. Consider why your target market would want to consume your content.

Creativity is key. Will your content rank highly enough on the search engines to compete with similar information? Is it unique enough? Remember, when it comes to marketing material, you don’t want just anyone to consume your content, you want the right people to.

For certain types of digital content, such as video, you may simply not have the in-house resources to create the high-quality material you need to. We offer animated video content and content marketing support packages, ensuring your business benefits from excellent digital material without having to invest in the necessary equipment, training and tools to do so.

3. Strategic and long-term planning

Effective marketing requires strategic planning, just like any other aspect of your business. It also requires you to think long-term to achieve the most consistent results. Long-term planning is a benefit to SMEs in particular, as it allows for a more considered allocation of your spend over time, especially useful when your competitors may have a much larger marketing budget. A long-term plan also allows you to assess which aspects of your marketing strategy are generating the best returns on your investment. Always good news for business leaders.

4. Improved resource allocation

An effective marketing plan will likely mean you are much busier, but this also results in less time to focus on creating new marketing campaigns and strategies. A long-term strategy means you won’t have to continuously create new marketing campaigns during your busiest times. Instead you will have consistent momentum, avoiding peaks and troughs between the creation of new marketing content and growth of your revenue. Of course, if you’re running at full capacity or don’t have a dedicated marketing team, we offer full service marketing support, meaning your busy in-house team can focus on their primary roles.

5. It improves the quality of the work

The quality of your marketing content will improve when a strategic marketing plan is implemented. Content that is planned ahead avoids your team rushing to create new content during busy times, keeping the work consistent and focused on your initial goals. Referring back to the goals from the outset of the marketing plan also helps to build brand consistency and allows for efficient tracking of growth, and troubleshooting if a campaign doesn’t generate the expected ROI.

6. It helps keep your team on the same page

A marketing plan is vital to ensure you've got buy-in and awareness across your entire business, especially in larger organisations where multiple teams may be required to get involved in marketing campaigns. For example, if you're running a social media promotion, are your customer service and sales agents fully aware in the event a customer calls and attempts to redeem the offer?

This strategy also allows input from across the business at an early stage, before you fully invest in marketing campaigns. For example, your sales or business development team may have some great insights on common customer objections or queries, which you can easily work into your campaign to further improve its efficacy.

This valuable insight is why the Happy Creative team always spends time with our clients to get a clear picture of your business and goals before creating your unique, detailed marketing plan.

7. You measure your success

With an effective marketing plan, you’re able to reflect on achievements and goals over time. We understand that goal-setting and regular reflection are vital to keep marketing plans on track. When you know what your measurables are and where your audience are accessing your content online, you can adjust your marketing strategy and allocate your resources more effectively. This keeps your marketing plan dynamic and focused on the most effective strategies.

Marketing is an area that requires knowledge of an ever-changing landscape, ample time and continuous resources. Even with the influx of available digital tools, marketing requires an open mind and careful consideration to ensure you’re getting the best return on your investment and optimal engagement with your target client base. Some areas of your marketing plan will produce better results than others, making ongoing reviews of your metrics essential.

We work with SMEs and business leaders to develop the right marketing plan to scale their organisations. We like to call the marketing plan “the glue” – it holds, strengthens and bonds growth and marketing. Ask our marketing specialists how a marketing plan can work for your growing business.