I’ve never been one for lengthy, complex marketing plans – nobody ever reads them and they pass their ‘sell-by date’ way too quickly.
That said I’m a firm believer in having some sort of written marketing plan. Without one your business is adrift at sea and rudderless. The key is to have a simple to implement, dynamic plan.
The best definition of marketing I’ve come across is that of Allan Dib. In his book, ‘The 1-Page Marketing Plan’ he states: “Marketing is the strategy you use to get your ideal target market to know you, like you and trust you enough to become a customer.”
Rather than taking a strategic approach, it’s not unusual to see businesses employing random tactics to try and generate sales. They place an advertisement here, a press release there and maybe send the odd email shot or two.
There clearly is no plan. They relying on the ‘wing and a prayer’ method which more often than not ends in a ‘crash and burn’ scenario.
Why do businesses take this ‘wing and a prayer’ approach?
Being harsh, I would say that it’s easier than them having to think through the problem. Usually, however, it’s because they either don’t understand marketing or they don’t know how to go about developing a strategy. Consequently, they simply don’t have the time to invest in the thinking process so essential in creating a successful strategy.
At Leapfrog, over a period of more than 30 years, we’ve refined a process to quickly understand our clients’ businesses. Known as the ‘Strategic Issue Analysis’ (SIA), it is a proven methodology. It enables us to create effective marketing strategies, even if we have no previously experience of our clients markets.
It is designed for us to get under our clients’ corporate skin; to understand exactly what it is they are offering and who the various buyers of their products or services are. What their needs are; what motivates them and what information they are looking for.
In this digital marketing age, we search out and compile lists of keywords and phrases that potential customers will use to research new suppliers. We then apply these keywords and phrases in the various marketing tactics used in the strategy.
If you’re looking to grow your business in 2019 and are interested in developing a dynamic marketing strategy we’d love to help. Given Alan Myers a call on 0116 278 778 or email: alan@leapfrog.uk.com