Washtenaw SBDC Developing Marketing Communications
Finding Solutions for Growing Businesses
DEVELOPING A MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM
Excerpted from the handbook, Small Business Guide to Effective Marketing Communications, provided by the Michigan Small Business Development Center, Detroit, Michigan and developed by the Business Enterprise Development Center, Troy, Michigan. This brochure and others are available through Washtenaw SBDC.
Your overall marketing or business plan will contain information necessary to the development of a focused marketing communications program. Such a plan should include your company's long and short term goals, as well as an assessment of the market environment for your products or services.
Since the marketing plan plays such a large role in the success of your business, it is recommended that a marketing specialist be called upon to develop this document. Here are some guidelines for selecting and hiring outside consultants.
Whether you are working on your own or with a marketing consultant, some basic information from your marketing plan will be critical when developing your marketing communications program. To keep your marketing communications efforts focused, cost-effective and results-oriented, be sure to refer to the following elements of your marketing or business plan.
- Analysis of the Market place - Challenges, trends and opportunities
- Competitive Analysis - Review of competition and consumer needs currently being met in the marketplace
- Assessment of Target Market - Who your customers and prospects are, where they are, what they buy, and why they buy
- Product/Service Unique Advantage - How your product/service will fill unmet needs in the marketplace
- Goals and Expectations - What you hope to accomplish in terms of sales and market penetration; what is reasonable given the realities of the marketplace
- Marketing Budget -Amount of money you plan to allocate annually to product development, research, and marketing communications
PROGRAM STEPS
Once you have identified a clear focus for your marketing efforts, you are ready to develop a marketing communications program. This program should include:
- Description of situation (market environment and where you fit it)
- Target audiences (who you will try to reach)
- Communications objectives (how you want to influence consumers; change their attitudes and behaviors)
- Strategy (how you will reach objectives)
- Tactics (tools and activities to implement strategy)
- Positioning
- Advertising
- Newsletters and Publications
- Publicity
- Community Relations
- Program evaluation (Did you accomplish objectives and achieve results?)
SETTING A MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS BUDGET
It is best to plan a long-term budget to ensure that funds are available when needed. Ideally, you should plan a 12-month budget, but semi-annual or quarterly plans are also common among small businesses. Try to be flexible enough to allow for changing marketplace conditions.
Three basic methods traditionally are used to develop marketing communications budgets. The most common, percentage of sales, means allocating a flat percentage of your total sales forecast. As a guide, find out what percentages other businesses in your industry are using. Check with trade magazines, trade organizations and personal contacts for this information. The unit of sales method assigns a specific dollar amount per unit and applies it to the marketing plan. The objective and task method relies on achieving specific goals according to established priorities.
This completes the Marketing Communications excerpts. This brochure and others are available through Washtenaw SBDC.
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