I`m doing some research to better understand my target market of small business owners and their relationship and attitudes toward marketing plans. Can you help me out by participating in my poll?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Debbie

This poll results makes sence to me because every small business owner thinks they have a marketing plan....even if it is only "get referrals" or "nock on doors" and they "do" this plan to the best of the ability which is normally below par....

What small business owners dont know or dont have is a marketing system which covers all the hundreds of different marketing tactics they could be using...and following that system to success.

Good point!  I guess the follow up question is, what IS a marketing plan?  I agree with you it is a complete system that covers a variety of marketing tactics, and it also addresses your goals, your competition, who you are marketing to, your budget, your positioning, your message, how you plan to track your marketing, etc. But others may have a different definition - as you said, it`s getting referrals or knocking on doors.

I`d be curious for those who say they have a plan, what that plan includes.

Thanks for sharing your viewpoint!

Debbie

 

I would say there are some variable components to any marketing plan, depending on industry or business stage or other factors, but some required pieces are competitive analysis, target audience/segment identification, value proposition/positioning (what do you do better and differently), and most importantly goals and tactics to achieve them.

Without some sense of where you are now and where you want to be, along with the specific tactics mapped to those end results, you have no chance of assessing whether or not your marketing activities are having the effect you require.  And without that, you can`t determine the return on your marketing investment - not a viable long-term strategy.