You may have had several goals for your business plan, including raising money to start a business. In today’s volatile and unpredictable economic environment, you don’t need a business plan, you need a battle plan. Your very survival may be at stake, hence the term “survival marketing.”
Your battle plan should be a powerful, flowing document that presents practical strategic concepts and translates them into creative, cost-effective tactical programs. It is invaluable for summarizing, detailing, and analyzing future opportunities and, most importantly, for developing methods to capitalize on those opportunities. A comprehensive battle plan, then, is a combination of research, analysis, and planning. You should start by gathering information and insights from the people who know your business and your markets best:
or Your executives
o Your sales team
or your clients
or end users
o Industry experts, including media representatives, trade publication editors/writers, trade associations, and analysts
or Providers
During this research process, you will also be involved in the following:
o A thorough review of past marketing strategies and materials.
o An analysis and review of your main competitors to determine the unique position each one occupies in your industry
o An analysis of current trends in your industry
This detailed analysis of your industry and company will result in a set of strategic recommendations and their accompanying tactical opportunities that address your most critical business and marketing objectives.
territorial brand
The key to this process will be figuring out how best to position your company to own unique “turf” within your industry. By identifying those unique qualities and capabilities that set you apart from your competition, you will, in effect, create your business “brand”—the one thing about your business that your target audiences will always associate with you.
The final battle plan will be a new and unique perspective and execution for your marketing campaign that incorporates what can be called “the four Cs”:
o Consistency: All sales and marketing activities must convey the same brand message, from brochures to press releases, trade show graphics and sales pitches. This is where the value of a clearly delineated brand position becomes apparent, as your company’s strengths will be evident in all of your marketing and communication materials and activities, and concepts that will resonate with customers will consistently project your unique position.
o Clarity: Marketing should focus on the main differentiator and/or main benefit of a product or company. Trying to convey too much information, no matter how positive or accurate, will overload your audience and detract from the core messages.
o Continuity: Marketing success needs repetition and duration to be successful. Messages need to be reinforced to break up the clutter of competing messages and make a lasting impression. In short, posting an ad once or sending a single postcard will rarely produce the desired result. Organizations need patience and a long-term budget to launch a valid marketing campaign.
o Creativity: The marketing message must be conveyed in a unique, attractive and relevant way. This is the area that marketing and advertising agencies routinely emphasize. While essential, creativity is not alone in launching a successful marketing campaign. As you’ll notice, it ranks last among “the four Cs,” not because it’s any less important, but because the other essentials for successful marketing need to be in place first.
The first is the first
To deliver in each of these areas, your battle plan, based on an assessment of major competitors, market trends, your company’s past marketing actions/budgets, and your current market position, should be organized into the following categories: following sections:
o Goals: This is an evaluation of the established goals, correlated with factors and background information of the research results. Goals are measurable (by time, dollars, units, etc.) to differentiate them from your mission statement, for example.
o Audience: Your audience includes the groups, market segments, target companies, and decision makers most likely to meet your stated objectives.
o Positioning: You need a clearly defined brand identity for your company that will be consistently carried through all your advertising, collateral materials, public relations efforts, speeches, sales pitches, even in the way your employees answer their phones and they talk to others. About the company.
o Messages: These are the key themes or statements delivered in subsequent marketing and outreach efforts.
o Tactical Recommendations – These are the marketing tactics and communication recommendations that will specifically address your stated goals while continually reinforcing your unique position in the marketplace to firmly establish your brand among your key prospects.
o Budget Projections – You will need a marketing budget projection of the total dollars and percentages that will be allocated to designated tactical marketing activities (eg, advertising, web, trade shows, etc.).
There’s a lot to it, and today more than ever you need to give your business your full attention. Not only do you have to work harder, you also have to work smarter. While you don’t need to take the “battle” metaphor as far as to start wearing camouflage clothing to the office, you should direct your efforts in a slightly more energetic and committed manner than you might have previously been. The fact is, you really need a battle plan in today’s market and depressed economy, but don’t get negative on the terminology. You would “fight” cancer or some other life-threatening disease, wouldn’t you? Well then, it’s time to fight the declining economy, so raise the flag, blow the trumpet and get moving. Go ahead ho!