The secret to strategic marketing planning for busy marketing managers

Are you planning your marketing on the run? Overwhelmed by demands for new website pages, extra brochures, and colleagues who don’t quite understand your function? And not to mention, “Oh, how about we start a podcast?”

You’re not alone. Nearly every marketing manager or marketing director we speak to has the same pressures. It can feel like an impossible task – meeting all those varied demands while also trying to keep control of your marketing strategy.

We’re not here to tell you how to do your strategic marketing planning – there are thousands of blogs about that. We’re here to remind you that it’s OK to take time out to get your head – and your strategy – straight.

Nothing replaces planning

Unless you’re very lucky indeed, nothing in business works without a plan. That’s as true for your organisation’s own strategic business planning as it is for your marketing plan. If you talk to any management consultant, they’ll tell you that it’s commonplace to speak to CEOs who have lots of energy and a great growth mindset, but no plan in place. And the failure to plan – as we’re so often told – is a plan to fail.

Put some time aside, turn off your phone and your emails (it can be done!), and put together, or update, your marketing plan.

The importance of thinking time

Ideally, before you start your strategic marketing planning, you’ll have spoken to other people in the business so that you understand the current business and sales strategies. This will give you an idea of targets, best-selling products or services, new offers coming on board, customer feedback and other essential information.

From that, you’ll be able to work out those key strategic planning elements:

• Understanding your current and potential target audience.
• Assess your target market and the addressable part of that market for your business.
• Look at your competitors – what are they doing and how is it working?
• Know what your targets are, aligning them with sales targets and wider business strategy.
• Review what you have done over the past 12 months – what worked and what didn’t?
• Consider your current marketing channels – are they still the right ones?
• Evaluate your current content and collateral. Does it need updating? Can you repurpose it?
• How have you been measuring your marketing return? What can you learn?

You’ll then be able to put a plan and a budget together. Usually, your budget will cover things like website maintenance, printing, and paid-for advertising. You may also want to budget for using external professionals like graphic designers or videographers. And you might need to budget for a one-off project or campaign.

Whatever your plan, having a strategic approach means you can:

Build more effective content – whether that’s long-form blogs that you can split into smaller pieces and quote for social media, or videos that help you improve engagement, a strategic plan will show you where the content is most needed, and where you get the best connection with your customers.

Deliver results – ad hoc marketing is commonplace and it usually results in frustration. That’s because you have nothing to measure your progress against. Setting targets or KPIs allows you to measure in detail and demonstrate your value – particularly when you need to ask for budget.

Manage demand – if you have an agreed marketing plan, then all activity must meet the requirements of your plan. This helps you to manage and control internal demands.

Focus on the important things – of course, you can flex your marketing plan to account for changes in product or service, and in your market. But essentially, your plan helps you focus on the things your business wants to achieve.

Be a long-term marketer – short term marketing tends to be more expensive and less effective. By thinking, planning and working on a long-term basis, your marketing, campaigns and content will be better prepared, more useful and have a longer lifespan.

We help marketing managers and directors to execute strategic plans affordably and with great results. We also work with ambitious organisations who know they need to improve marketing but don’t know where to start.

To find out more, just contact us at [email protected] or on +44 203 2827570 for a chat.