Motivation, perseverance, desire, dedication, knowledge and time are just some of the factors required in order to build and retain success in marketing. Success does not always come easy and it might not develop overnight.
One of the best and most important ways to get started or to re-focus your marketing efforts is to create a marketing plan. Below are several steps to not only jump start your marketing campaign but to also provide guidance through the journey to success.
Mediterranean Marketing Plan:
1. Focus: Determine what areas of marketing you would like to focus your attention on. I.e.: Social Media, Email Marketing, Public Relations, Advertising, Networking, Events, Blogging, etc...
2. Time: Now figure out how much time you can realistically devote to your marketing campaign. Whether it be each day, once a week, several times a month, it is important to know how much time you have to devote, before you get started.
3. Strength: By now you know your focus and how much time you have. Now you have to analyze your marketing strengths and weaknesses. Ask yourself questions like: "What marketing have I had success with in the past?", "Which of my marketing focuses do I enjoy executing?" For the areas in your "Focus" list that you have now determined that you are weak in, you might want to enlist the help of others in your circle or network that would be willing to assist.
4. Objectives: Going back to #1, decide exactly what it is you would like to see as a result of each. For instance, if you wrote down Social Media as one of your focuses, perhaps you would like to gain new followers/fans on your Twitter and Facebook accounts. This which I have underlined would be your objective. Do this for each of your focus groups that you have decided. It will also help you if you are asking for help from others. The better they understand what your objectives are, the better they will be able to get the job done.
5. Schedule: Whether you use the calendar in your email, your smartphone or my personal favorite: a weekly/monthly planner; schedule in dates and times that you will be able to work on your marketing focus groups and/or meet with those that are assisting you. Keep in mind your objectives and consider how much you would like to achieve these. Perhaps you only decide to schedule an hour on Thursday afternoons to blog, but you schedule a half hour per day to grow your Twitter and Facebook following because you want to achieve success for that focus faster.
6. Be held accountable: Okay, not only might you have to ask for help in step #3, but you definitely should be asking for help here. Ask someone, whether it be your partner, colleague, employee, family member (dogs/cats not allowed), or friend to hold you accountable for your duties. Ask this "designated marketing advocate" to follow-up with you on your progress and whether you've kept your "marketing appointments." It is far too easy to let ourselves forget about obligations and push these items to the back-burner. If you have someone reminding you about your duties, it might be harder to fall off the Mediterranean Marketing Bandwagon.
7. Expect the unexpected: Following step #6, try to anticipate speed bumps or road blocks that might get in the way of you completing your scheduled marketing tasks. For instance, if there is an important business meeting on a Thursday afternoon which conflicts with your blogging extravaganza which usually goes down at the same time, you might want to free up some time earlier in the day to blog.
8. Analyze results: After you've been marketing your way to success for some time, schedule some time to analyze results. See what your progress has been, how well you have been doing and what areas you would either like to continue to focus on or perhaps modify. After working on your campaign for some time, you might find that you need help. There are many wonderful full-serive marketing firms that you could work with.
Keep in mind that Rome was not built in a day. Your marketing success won't be built in a day either. It might not be built in a week, maybe not even in a month. Ever heard the saying: "Good things come to those who wait"? Well, I like to modify that a bit and say: "Good things come to those who work hard and don't give up."
No comments:
Post a Comment