Marketing & Communications

Plan

I N T E G R A T E D

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Marketing Plan

Why is a Marketing Plan Valuable to a Business?

A marketing plan is a strategic roadmap that businesses use to organize, execute, and track their marketing efforts over a given time period.

To grow your business, you need a marketing plan. It’s easy to spend money on advertising without first considering the merits of that media type or whether your target market will engage with it. A good plan identifies your target customers, how you will reach them effectively and how to retain them so they become loyal, repeat buyers.

If done properly, your marketing plan becomes a roadmap that is crucial to follow in order to create unlimited opportunities to bring in new customers and ultimately your business’s success.

Basic Marketing Plan For Businesses

Marketing plans are usually loaded with business-specific information and outlines targets, referral sources, messages, and the marketing paths. The marketing plan that has been made available for local businesses to use is a high level plan with broad tactics that can be implemented to try and generate more business opportunities. It is important to note that this is a basic plan in order to benefit as many businesses as possible. It is not industry specific and therefore some of the tactics may not be appropriate for certain businesses to use.

What Are Marketing Tactics?

Marketing tactics are the strategic actions that direct the promotion of a product or service to influence specific marketing goals. These actionable items typically sit under a broader business goal - for example: to generate XX number of new clients in 12 months. The business objective is a top level goal and the tactics are the things a business can do in order to achieve the goal.

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Tactic Legend

Cost

Low/Minimal

Medium

High

Variable

Frequency

Once

Recurring or Ongoing

A minor investment of capital is sufficient to see results.

A significant capital investment is necessary to see results.

Be prepared to invest heavily in order to see results.

Investment can be scaled according to the desired impact of the tactic, or other factors.

Any tactic that requires action once, or a one-time purchase, bears this icon.

Services that continue over time, or will be often repeated with recurring costs, are indicated by this icon.

Free Tactics bearing this icon may only require time or labor.

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Marketing Tactics for Business

Tactic 1

Reorder Reminders

A salesperson can ask, or infer how often a client needs an item that is reordered regularly. The salesperson can kindly remind the client that it is nearly time to place their next order at the appropriate time interval via email or phone call. This shows the client that the salesperson cares about their business by anticipating their needs before they have a chance to realize it’s needed.

Tactic 2

Invoice Mailings

Including a promotional piece in any invoice mailer is a low cost way of achieving one more touchpoint, communicating an additional message to the client. This might be highlighting one of the latest products/services that your company has on offer or, a special offer on an existing product that not many clients are familiar with yet.

Tactic 3

Reward Program

Tactic 4

Research Correlations Between Products

If a company can identify which of their products/services are typically bought together or in succession, this will empower the salesforce to anticipate the client’s needs and grow the account at the same time.

There are a large variety of incentives that can be offered to customers to persuade them to shop more at a business, but the philosophy is simple: repeat customers are rewarded and businesses increase sales. Having a customer loyalty program could help increase repeat business, which in turn could boost the business’s revenue. Having a tiered rewards program, with perks along the way, would help customers jump on the rewards program quicker and hopefully build a habit of buying from the store.

Below is a list of tactics that businesses can implement to try and increase growth opportunities. Some may not be applicable to all types of industries/businesses but are top line, cost effective ideas to help companies market themselves.

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Tactic 8

Incentive Programs

Incentive programs or reward programs are great ways for clients to feel valued. If a company implements an incentive program with existing clients, whereby the existing client gets a reward if they refer new business to the business, this is likely to increase the number of referrals received. Clients enjoy a value-equated reward and are more likely to proactively recommend your company if they know they are getting something in return for it.

Tactic 7

Self-Branded Swag

Providing promotional items to customers as a “thank you” gift at appropriate times shows the client that they’re cared for. These items should be branded with your company’s branding and contact information if possible. If the gift is something useful and something that is likely to live in someone’s office for a number of months or years, it will serve as a regular reminder, keeping your business top of mind with the client.

Tactic 6

Organic Social Media Communication

Maintaining an active, professional social media presence instills confidence in potential customers. Regularly posting quality content tells the consumer that the company is active and cares about them. This can be accomplished by showcasing the expertise and variety of products/services at a company. Also, a blend of helpful/interesting/entertaining information shows that your business cares about its customers. An increasing number of likes with a large number of positive reviews will reinforce the brand’s good reputation.

Tactic 5

E-Newsletter

An e-newsletter is a cost-effective method to send interesting and edifying information to your past and present clients. It serves as a continuous touchpoint with a brand and keeps that brand top of mind. An e-newsletter can include any of the following:

• Case studies• Relevant industry news• Behind the scenes info• New product/service announcements• Community involvement• Links to blogs

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Tactic 9

Brochure/Leave Behind

Print media, such as brochures and flyers, can provide more information about your brand’s products/services. These would be distributed from a storefront, via sales people, made available at the Chamber of Commerce and their events, mailed, or given to any of your target markets to inform and persuade them to use your products/services. Sending a postcard to existing clients serves as a colorful reminder of your capabilities and presence in the market. Direct mail campaign costs are tied to the specificity of the mailing list: a more targeted list of past customers or recent leads reduces potential waste.

Tactic 10

Coupon Offering

Coupons will drive customers to your business. A customer always likes to think they are getting a saving or something that is good value for their money. Coupons are a great way to introduce new customers to your store, introduce new product lines and even provide a way to get rid of unwanted inventory. Once you get new business from new customers, future coupons ensure that these customers come back to your store to purchase again.

Tactic 11

Coupons on Website

Coupons will drive customers to your business and help develop loyalty and repeat business. A customer always likes to think they are getting a savings or something that is good value for their money. Offering coupons on your website ensures that customers go and visit the website to see what is available, and then likely print and use the coupon for their next store-visit. This tactic drives traffic to your site and also drives repeat business.

Tactic 12

Give-Away Opportunities

Customers always find more incentive to do things when there is a prize involved. You can implement a giveaway as frequently as wanted that encourages people to not only purchase from the store but also refer others to purchase too. Anybody that refers someone can get 2 entries and all other purchases get 1 entry. You can set a minimum purchase amount to ensure that you are obtaining high quality customers.

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Tactic 16

Refer a Friend

Incentive programs or reward programs are great ways for clients to feel valued. If you implement an incentive program in which existing clients receive a discount if they refer new business to your company, this is likely to increase the number of referrals received. Clients enjoy a value equated reward and are more likely to proactively recommend your businessif they know they are getting something in return for it.

Tactic 15

In-Store Collateral

Not all collateral has to be professionally designed as long as it clearly communicates a necessary message. It can be something simple that helps a customer and encourages an additional sale. Perhaps the piece gives suggestions they had not previously considered. Offering a “shopping list” or a “checklist for your paint project” in-store not only adds value for the customer as they are receiving free information, but it can also help you generate more sales. Often a customer may not know exactly what they need for their specific project, so by providing a checklist or shopping list, it ensures they buy everything they need at your store.

Tactic 14

Gift Cards

A company could implement a reward tactic where they give customers a gift card (for example $50 on purchases of $250 or more, or something similar appropriate to your price point) when they refer someone new to the store. This could be given as a one-off and shows existing customers that you appreciate their business.

Tactic 13

Display Set-Up/Demonstration at Events

A brand activation or demonstration comprises a unique event and/or experience that enables the brand to engage directly with consumers and builds a strong affiliation between the offering and the potential customer. Demonstrations are often inclusive and interactive and, when in the right environment for your brand, allows the target audience to be drawn to your product and want to learn more about what is on display. By creating a unique demonstration at appropriate events, there is more opportunity to be seen and more opportunity to generate conversations with new prospects.

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Tactic 20

Community Events

Quality time with family and friends is what makes the products and services of your company so appealing, and giving the community a taste of that experience by participating in events can have a huge impact. Your company’s presence there will keep them top of mind with existing customers, as well as introduce your company to new members of the community.

Tactic 19

Chamber Involvement

The local chambers of commerce are hubs for businesses to network with each other, and for business-to-consumer companies to form consumer-friendly partnerships. Chambers of commerce also host events introducing businesses to the public. The Chamber’s Business Fair at Auburn University is an example of these. Events like Leads to Business and Business After Hours introduce businesses to each other, allowing company representatives to build new business partnerships.

Tactic 18

Tactic 17

Bundle Promotions

It is a natural instinct for a customer to want to get good value for money. A great way to capitalize on this is by offering a “bundle” at a rate that is discounted from the cost of buying the items separately. While a bundle may cost the customer more, they perceive it as getting better value for the price and are therefore more likely to purchase it. By offering bundle promotions, your business will be maximizing the opportunity to upsell to anyone coming into the store.

Spend $$ and Receive a % off a Future Purchase

One possible form this tactic could take is that when a customer spends a certain amount, they get a certain percentage off a future purchase. This doesn’t encourage an upsell in the store at that moment, but it encourages the customer to come back to the store and purchase again and again. This tactic can ease the conversion on a higher-value item by increasing the number of impressions— the customer must come back to the store to redeem the savings— and the percentage itself effectively reduces the cost to the customer.

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“Business After Hours” is an event coordinated by either/both chambers of commerce to promote networking among their members. Promotion before and at the event can afford your business several impressions, or “touches,” among the professional community.

Tactic 22

“Business After Hours” Host

Tactic 21

Thank You Notes

The “thank-you” note is universally recognized as a courtesy that demonstrates thoughtfulness while communicating gratitude. Seemingly small gestures like this work as a whole to reinforce the impression in the client’s mind that your company genuinely cares about their clients. An informative print piece could also be included with these notes, should the store want to remind their clients of other services, or announce charitable events that the store is supporting.

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