Planning Your Success
The competitive landscape in your organization’s world has changed noticeably and quickly
As dynamics in society, including a drawn out and very deep recession have forever changed your competitive environment, successful marketing strategies and tactics have shifted into a dramatic “live or die” aggressive and highly competitive mode.
If you have navigated your way to this page, it’s likely that you:
- recognize increasing competitive pressures in your field.
- are serious about maximizing the impact of your marketing message and budget; and/or
- are ready and committed to growing your organization and moving up to the next level.
After nearly a decade of helping organizations protect and grow market share, we’ve found that organizations who succeed, do so because they planned it that way.
Winners in the marketplace always have a comprehensive and integrated marketing plan which they use daily. The scale of their plan varies from smaller to larger operations and organizations, but they are always sophisticated and feature several moving parts.
The first 6 marketing audit questions…
Regardless of how well you think you’re doing, a marketing reality check is useful. If everything’s just fine, you can take comfort in continuing with your current efforts. But if you’re unsure, or if you’re always working on improvement and desire a serious breakthrough in mind and market-share, here are 6 questions that will help you assess your current marketing plan.
1. Are you using an evidence-based marketing approach?
Does your marketing system include proven strategies, a well-designed marketing plan, effective execution of that plan and some method of assessing it’s affects? All four of these components are important.
2. What’s the date on your current marketing plan?
Even well-considered plans become dated if they are not challenged occassionally. If it’s been a few years since you took a fresh look at your plan, set aside some quiet time to evaluate. Do you merely need “freshening,” or do you need a completely new plan?
3. Do you have clear and specific goals?
Is everyone perfectly clear about the goals? Goals and objectives sit at the top of the mountain. Developing strategies for getting to the top (what you will say about your organization, product or service) will be served by different tactics (radio, television, social media, media relations, etc.) Goals are at the top; strategies support goals; and tactics implement the strategies.
Have your goals changed? What are the new goals and how did you set those goals? What strategies and tactics are needed to achieve the goals, new or otherwise? Did you realign your budget for the things that have changed?
4. Is your marketing budget right for the job?
Do you have enough resources in the right places to make it a winning plan?
5. Does your brand-building message clearly differentiate your organization or company?
As long as you are the “only game in town,” branding and positioning for your company or organization might go unchallenged. But increased competition means that your prospects need to clearly hear and understand how you are different and better.
6. Is your brand-building plan ruthlessly consistent?
Surprisingly, there are large international organizations that do not have their basic brand-identity elements working in sync over time and space. This makes them vulnerable to much smaller organizations and companies that do have their basic brand identity elements working in their favor.
Is your logo always changing (albeit subtly)? Have you identified your distinct corporate colors? Do those colors frequently change? Do you have a corporate style-guide that demonstrates the legally-permissible uses and variations of your mark? Do you refer to your company’s “slogan” or do you actually call it a “positioning statement?”
None of these are minor or frivolous questions. They are foundational elements that need to be formalized if you are determined to build or improve your organization’s image in the minds of prospects.
…Call us if you need help finding answers to these questions…
Big Idea Company can guide your organization’s marketing, as we have done for others throughout the region, providing honest, breakthrough and evidence-based marketing strategies and tactics. We can help give you a competitive edge.
Our staff understands what works and what doesn’t work in marketing, public relations and advertising. We know how to effectively communicate your value to your various customers and prospects in ways that help them appreciate what you have to offer.
Call us today at (574) 257-IDEA (4332)
and we’ll help get all your questions answered
