Have you determined your marketing objectives for 2010? If not, now is the perfect time to develop your marketing plan.

The first step is to determine overall business objectives for 2010. Does the company want to focus on a new product, enter a new market or hold a steady course? These business objectives will drive your marketing plan.

Next, determine your budget. This can be tough for many companies, but a planned (or close to planned) budget will help determine what you can accomplish in 2010. Without a budget, it’s like finding a needle in a haystack – pretty difficult. So, try to nail down a budget or a close-to-exact budget before you plan.

Now, take a step back and answer a few questions. Who is your target audience? What information do you know about them? Are these current customers or prospects? How large is this audience? What is the buying cycle for your product? Really dig deep and put as much known information down on paper – make sure it is known information and not just assumed.

Now, let’s get to planning. Marketing objectives should support the business objectives. Develop the marketing objectives and strategies first, then move on to specific tactics. Your tactics may include public relations, advertising, a new product launch, entering the world of social media, etc., but the tactics must support your marketing objectives. And they need to fit your budget.

Your marketing plan should act as the roadmap for 2010 and should be agreed upon by all necessary stakeholders. Once the plan is agreed upon, you’ve got your plan and a guide for the coming year. Then just sit back and relax…yeah right, now get ready to implement!

This entry was posted Friday, December 11th, 2009 at 3:49 pm and is filed under Advertising, Education, Marketing. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.