Will Developing a Marketing Plan
Really Help Your Business Succeed?

Any business journal, consultant or marketing professional will tell you that small business marketing plan development is vital to business success. So why doesn't every business have one?

Good question. Especially in light of this startling statistic from the Small Business Administration:

But ask business owners why they don't have a business or marketing plan, and you'll hear another side to the issue, a side that certainly has some valid points:

No time.
For many small-business owners, their small business marketing plans consist of getting up very early, doing everything from accounting and ordering to shipping and sweeping, closing up late, and then doing it again the next day.
No money.
Marketing or business planning consultants cost money.
No incentive.
Business is moving along just fine, so the don't-need-to-fix-what-isn't-broken syndrome kicks in.
No confidence that formal planning will help.
Because small business marketing plans — or any other business plans — carry no guarantees, there is hesitancy to trust their value.
Fear of treading into unfamiliar marketing waters.
Afraid to attempt a business or marketing plan themselves, and not having the money to hire a consultant, business owners tend to freeze and do nothing.

Small business marketing plans can save your business

Yet, when businesses start feeling the pinch on the bottom line or start losing customers, the word “marketing” usually springs up as the hopeful lifeline.

Unfortunately, by then, it's much more difficult to recoup, because small business marketing plans and marketing activities during a crisis tend to center around a reactive or defensive stance.

It's like trying to stop the bleeding before healing can begin. First, you have to protect the remaining market; then you try to win back those who drifted away; and, finally, you can aggressively go after new markets. And here's more bad news: oftentimes, you have to do all three simultaneously if you want to survive.

Is There an Easy Answer for the Busy Small-Business Person?

Easy? No. An answer? Yes.

Stop to create a small business marketing plan

Stop. It's the only way to go forward.

While that sounds simple, it's probably the hardest thing for a small business to do. But stop you must — at least for a little while.

Put away the broom, close shop early or at lunchtime, devote your day off, ask a fellow business owner for help, but stop. Learn what you need to know about the marketing basics and especially about small business marketing plans.

Start out right here at Marketing Ideas Advisor. We have pages and pages devoted to solid, foundational marketing information and advice gathered from more than 20 years of corporate, nonprofit and small-business experience — and it's free.

We'll lead you in the right direction to scope out free Marketing Plan Samples.

Find a plan that suits your business. Get marketing plan software that guides you every step of the way if you want to do it yourself, or hire a professional to help you plan your way to success. Do any or all of these, but start the process now.

Is Your Successful Business Stopping You from Planning for Success?

Probably the most difficult segment of the business sector to convince of the need for small business marketing plans is the successful small-business person.

It's hard to argue with success — until competition shows up. Or the demographics changes in your town. Or new technology makes your service obsolete. Or one of a hundred other reasons affects your bottom line.

Even if you're doing a booming business, you still need a game plan. Here's why:

Marketing plans prepare you for the unexpected

So, how can you foresee the unforeseen? Quality small business marketing plans make you imagine scenarios, both good (like an overwhelming demand for a new product) and bad (like a sudden drop in sales after your most popular product is recalled). Then your plan asks you to prepare for handling those situations.

Here's a perfect example of a small business, so successful, so fast, that it was all the owner could do to keep up with the demand for her services. Taking time to plan? Out of the question. Now, unfortunately, the owner has plenty of time on her hands.

A small alterations business was doing very well, thanks in part to its prime location in a small strip mall with a very busy cleaners and a designer-clothing outlet. Their visibility was optimal: close to the street on a very well-traveled, short-cut road to a main artery, along which sat a large complex of professional offices, local government buildings and other businesses.

The alterations business took off right from the start — no need for a marketing plan, not even advertising. Most of the customers came from shoppers at the designer outlet. Other business also came from the professionals who regularly brought their suits and business attire to the cleaners. Sounds like Business Utopia, doesn't it?

In their third year of business, the alterations shop suffered two major blows: First, the designer outlet moved to a new and larger building five miles away. Six months later, the cleaners' owners retired and closed up shop.

The alterations business faltered almost instantly. It hung in for another year and a half until its lease was up, and then closed.

Could a Small Business Marketing Plan Have Saved the Alterations Shop?

Of course, no one can say for certain, but a comprehensive marketing plan would have asked the owner to consider possible threats. The alterations shop's heavy reliance on the other two businesses would have been a clear signal to plan for such a scenario.

One strategy to avoid a catastrophic business failure might have had the owner signing a shorter lease term. This could have allowed her to move closer to her main source of business, the designer outlet, when it moved, or shortly thereafter.

She could have developed programs aimed at the large professional complex, advertising in their monthly newsletter, offering delivery service, asking her customers in that complex to post fliers listing her services, etc.

Another marketing strategy would have had the alterations shop owner collect a database of her clientele right from the start so she could keep in contact with them, offering discounts and incentives. This would build a loyal customer base, rather than relying so much on walk-ins.

This shop is a perfect example of why local businesses need an Internet presence — especially since some major search engines are launching “search by location” features. With a Web site, this business could have used its database to keep connected with customers via a regular newsletter (e-zine) that gave sewing, fabric and alteration tips. The owner could have used this format to send coupons or announcements to her targeted customers. See Small Business Marketing Strategies for more tips about the vital concept of relationship-building for small businesses. And visit Create a Profitable Internet Business to learn how an effective Web site can transform your business.

In other words, the small business marketing plan would have had her identify her weaknesses and vulnerabilities, and develop a plan of action to secure a solid customer base irrespective of the other businesses.

So, Who Needs to Plan?

Got the idea that all businesses could benefit from small business marketing plans? Whether your business is successful or struggling, just starting out or been around for awhile, you need to have a game plan, if…

Small business marketing plans help you grow

You want your business/organization to succeed or grow.
By developing a road map that sets your goals and objectives, you can stay on course and resist the distractions that consume time and money.
You want to maintain your current level of success.
Be assured that if you're doing well, someone is watching and will put a new spin on your product or service, undercutting your market share. You always have to be a step ahead, even if you want to stay right where you are.
You need image enhancement.
Image translates into dollars. What's your image in the community or business sector? Are you a good corporate citizen? Are you unique in the marketplace? Do you look professional? What do your sign, brochure, Web site, storefront or logo say about you?
You're vulnerable to public scrutiny.
Not too much else will damage your reputation faster than bad press. Do you know how to answer media questions honestly and minimize adverse publicity at the same time? What steps should you take to counter the negativity and regain credibility?
You need to communicate effectively.
Does your advertising target your most-likely-to-buy markets or do you use the scatter-gun approach? Do you use the most effective communication vehicle to get your message out, or are you spending your money on activities whose results can't be measured?

When Small Business Marketing Plans Don't Work

The most significant weakness of small business marketing plans is that they can't act on their own. When you develop a plan, you must give it Action Steps and deadlines — and then you must give the plan life by executing it.

The marketing plan will ask you to answer: “What's my goal?” The Action Steps answer the question: “How am I going to get there?”

After you fill in the Marketing Strategies section of your plan, you'll have to develop the detailed Action Steps that'll spell out what you'll do, how you'll do it and when.

See an example of this in the Action Plan Model (opens in a new window), a simplified version of the type of Marketing Plan that some businesses use as a start to a more comprehensive plan.

Eat Up All the Information You Can Get

Want to learn more about Small Business Marketing Plans? Go to Marketing Ideas Advisor's Marketing Plan Samples page. You'll see how planning fits in with your Goals. You'll also see three simplified planning models and have access to free comprehensive planning samples.

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