Putting together your marketing plan for a successful 2016 in West Palm Beach

So now we understand the importance of creating and then following a well-designed yearly marketing plan for your business, as discussed in the 1st blog of this three part series. In this 2nd part of our 3-part blog we give structure to your marketing plan. An unstructured marketing plan will invariably cost your company a fortune as you spend money in areas that are not giving the return on investment needed while not allocating enough funds in areas that could yield much more fruit.

The first thing you need to do is decide on your budget. And the most important aspect of deciding on your budget is: be realistic, but do not be too tight. You may have grand marketing plans for the new year, but if you don’t have the budget set correctly, you will run out of money for marketing long before 2016 ends.

As part of putting together the budget you must analyze and assess your business’ current situation. What are the market trends, and how have you reacted to these trends? Are you meeting and/or exceeding the needs of your customers, or are you coming up short in that very important area? Answers to these questions will have a direct effect on your final budget amount.

At the same time, if you do not fund an adequate budget for marketing, you better be getting all your business from current clients and word of mouth. Frankly, that is not a realistic way for 99% of us to grow our businesses in 2016 and beyond. Yet, we see companies, particularly fledging companies, make the mistake of making a marketing budget that is woefully short of the amount needed to adequately build your brand in the marketplace.

After deciding on a realistic budget, the next thing you need to do is keep an eye on your budget so you can keep your marketing fresh monthly, or however often you need to reach out. Make sure to diversify with different medias, particularly if you are a new company and are unsure of what the most effective media will be for your products and services. Include direct mail, promotional products, advertisements, sponsorships, email marketing, updating (or creating) your company’s website, Facebook, Google+ and other social medias, and networking in your budget. Develop marketing campaigns and tactics around these different medias, and then implement them.

Finally, you must always remember to “Measure Your Results” of every campaign. Here is another area where many companies, particularly small companies where the owner and management wear multiple hats, tend to let slide. That is a mistake. In fact, that is such a big mistake that the very future of your company may depend on the accuracy of your measuring the results of your marketing campaigns. Why? Because running marketing campaigns that do not produce enough Return On Investment (ROI) can doom a company to failure.

Creating and implementing integrated successful marketing campaigns throughout 2016 and beyond can be the life blood of your business. In the modern world, there are countless platforms for advertising and communicating with potential clients. A well-orchestrated campaign will not only reach a large audience, but it will also help increase brand recognition and drive people to your company. The New Year offers a perfect opportunity to get started with a bang by putting an effective, multi-faceted marketing campaign to work for your business.

At Print it Plus we love to help you convert your ideas into a cohesive, integrated marketing plan. We help to build the brand of your company through a variety of print, mail, direct mail, advertising, marketing campaigns and/or superior website design. Contact us at HTTP://WWW.PRINTITPLUS.COM to learn more about how we can help YOU to CREATE INFINITE POSSIBILITIES in 2016… and beyond!