A disappointing marketing plan will make an investor run a mile. Here’s what you should avoid. May 29th
A marketing plan is an important aspect of the business process. It is what highlights how a brand intends to actualise set goals and objectives. Savvy investors, therefore, watch out for a properly drafted plan. Below are some mistakes that will put them off investments into your business.
Following the Crowd
If your marketing plan is basically a replica of what your competition is doing, you have basically taken the easy way out and any savvy investors will notice. The fact that a marketing approach worked for the competition doesn’t mean it will work for your business. Your unique selling proposition as a brand should set you apart from the crowd and your marketing plan must be centred on how you can communicate the unique selling proposition to your target audience.
Inadequate customer research
An investor will most likely ditch your brand if there are customer related questions that have been left unanswered. What are your customers’ needs? What demographics do your customers fall into? What is the best platform to reach them? You marketing plan should be devoid of any guess work. You need to know your customers, the problems they are facing, how you can help them solve these problems and the kind of content you can use to target them. Additionally, you need to know where they spend the most of their time especially online. Devoting online marketing resources to the wrong social media platform for example, is a way to blow the marketing budget without achieving results.
Excess Focus on Singular Big Budget Marketing
The best marketing plans show a clear coordination between various marketing channels. Focus your marketing on one big budget aspect is a clear indication of a poor marketing plan. So instead of relying on buying stands at a national exhibition for example, as you source of marketing information delivery, spread your budget to cover other channels such as direct mail, paid search advertising, social media advertising, sponsored posts and more.
No Plan for Tracking Marketing Results
If there is no clear plan for tracking your marketing results, an investor will not be able to see how marketing budget has been spent. You can only know what works and what doesn’t, in your marketing process when there is a clear path for tracking results. To be able to accurately measure your marketing results, you need to know how many customers you acquired in relation to the amount of money spent. You also need to work out the acquisition cost per customer by analysing how much they spent on your products and services.
May 29th
A marketing plan is an important aspect of the business process. It is what highlights how a brand intends to actualise set goals and objectives. Savvy investors, therefore, watch out for a properly drafted plan. Below are some mistakes that will put them off investments into your business.
Following the Crowd
If your marketing plan is basically a replica of what your competition is doing, you have basically taken the easy way out and any savvy investors will notice. The fact that a marketing approach worked for the competition doesn’t mean it will work for your business. Your unique selling proposition as a brand should set you apart from the crowd and your marketing plan must be centred on how you can communicate the unique selling proposition to your target audience.
Inadequate customer research
An investor will most likely ditch your brand if there are customer related questions that have been left unanswered. What are your customers’ needs? What demographics do your customers fall into? What is the best platform to reach them? You marketing plan should be devoid of any guess work. You need to know your customers, the problems they are facing, how you can help them solve these problems and the kind of content you can use to target them. Additionally, you need to know where they spend the most of their time especially online. Devoting online marketing resources to the wrong social media platform for example, is a way to blow the marketing budget without achieving results.
Excess Focus on Singular Big Budget Marketing
The best marketing plans show a clear coordination between various marketing channels. Focus your marketing on one big budget aspect is a clear indication of a poor marketing plan. So instead of relying on buying stands at a national exhibition for example, as you source of marketing information delivery, spread your budget to cover other channels such as direct mail, paid search advertising, social media advertising, sponsored posts and more.
No Plan for Tracking Marketing Results
If there is no clear plan for tracking your marketing results, an investor will not be able to see how marketing budget has been spent. You can only know what works and what doesn’t, in your marketing process when there is a clear path for tracking results. To be able to accurately measure your marketing results, you need to know how many customers you acquired in relation to the amount of money spent. You also need to work out the acquisition cost per customer by analysing how much they spent on your products and services.
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