You know what they say - New Year, new marketing plan. Whether your small business has been going strong for a while or you’re trying to make a name for yourself, January is the perfect time to develop a marketing plan for the coming year.
Small business marketing plans are all-important to ensure continued success and growth over the next 12 months. But a marketing plan with such a large scope can pose some issues, especially when other tasks begin to pile up as the year progresses.
In this guide, we’ll talk you through the steps you can take to develop a detailed and comprehensive marketing plan. You’ll also get some inspiration for marketing tactics that will drive conversion and strengthen your brand in 2023. Let’s get started.
Planning Your Marketing Plan
It might seem like overkill, but before you can put pen to paper on your marketing plan, you’ll need to do some extra preparation. The more time you put into this organizational stage, the easier it will be to stick to your marketing plan throughout the year. Below are 6 steps to make sure the marketing plan for your small business is tailored to your customers and goals.
- Analyze Your Business
First, it can be helpful to evaluate where your small business is at coming into 2023. List your small business’s strengths, especially the ones you’ll be able to use in your marketing. These can be things that set your business apart from your competition, or any resources that might help with creating marketing content. You should also list any weaknesses you’re going to focus on this year. These can be resources your competition has that you do not, and any limitations in resources that may hinder your marketing.
- Analyze the Market
Now you know where your small business stands, it’s time to analyze the market. This will help you get a good feel for what consumers in your industry are looking for, and what steps your competitors are taking to reach out to them. First, identify any market opportunities your small business will be able to take advantage of. These can be things like under-served consumer sectors and up-and-coming trends in your industry. You’ll also need to list any potential external issues your small business may come up against. These might be changes in consumer opinion and desires, or rising competitors ready to steal your thunder.
- Analyze Target Market
An important part of your marketing plan is figuring out who’s going to be on the other end of your content. Once you know what kind of consumers are likely to buy from your business, you can focus on creating targeted marketing materials that will convert them. Use your customer data from 2022 to find out if those who converted have common traits you can hone in on. While it’s tempting to target as many people as possible, try not to be too broad. An undefined customer base can stretch your small business’s capabilities and result in less conversion on the whole. Some demographics to determine might be:
- Age range
- Location
- Gender
- Hobbies
- Values
- Family/marital status
Once you know the demographics you’ll be targeting, think ahead about how 2023 will impact them and what kind of service they’ll be looking for. You’ll also want to note down how many customers you’re looking to reach, so you can scale your goals and marketing budget accordingly.
- Set Goals
Now you know what your small business’s strengths and potential points for improvement are, along with your target market, you can set goals for the coming year. These goals will be what your marketing plan is tailored towards. Again, you may like to use the data from 2022 to be as specific as possible. Many small businesses use SMART criteria to set goals.
S - Specific
A specific goal will outline exactly what you want to achieve, who will be responsible for achieving it, and what steps you need to take. The more specific your goal, the easier it will be to allocate resources and track development.
M - Measured
A measured goal will include exact numbers or a definite ‘finishing’ point. This will help you know exactly how far you are from achieving your goal so you can alter resources as the end of the year draws nearer.
A - Attainable
While it can be tempting to ‘go big or go home’, setting unattainable goals will put unnecessary pressure on you and your small business. An attainable and realistic goal might only see a small improvement, but will be far more conducive to overall success.
R - Relevant
It seems obvious, but your goals should be relevant to your small business and your industry. To make sure your goal is significant, always bear in mind the questions is this something that we need to achieve? Why?
T - Time-managed
Being specific about deadlines can help you plan effectively. Smaller goals may only last 3 or 6 months, with the option to add to them as the year progresses. Some goals might span the entirety of 2023, and these will likely require more attention from you and your employees.
For example, in 2023 we will up site conversion from 0.2% to 0.6%, or, by July 2023 we will increase followers across social media from 900 to 3000. If your goals and aims adhere to SMART criteria, your small business is far more likely to stick to the plan and achieve them.
- Determine Tactics
Once you know what you’re working towards, you’ve got everything you need to start developing the specifics of your marketing plan. Outline any marketing techniques you’re going to focus on and what you expect them to achieve. Tailor these techniques to the strengths of your business. For example, if you have a camera and a keen video editor on staff, you may like to try creating your own content.
Choosing only a select few marketing techniques will ensure your small business can give them each the attention they warrant. You can always pivot from the least successful techniques as the year progresses. Again, the more specific you are, the easier it will be to follow your marketing plan throughout 2023.
- Allocate Resources
Now you know exactly what you want to achieve over the next year and how you’re going to do it, it’s time to determine what you’ll need. Marketing plans are not cheap to put into action, especially if you’ve got big dreams for 2023. So, at this point, you may need to edit your goals and tactics depending on the number of resources available to you.
Financial resources will likely be your biggest determiner for what ends up in your finalized marketing plan. But don’t forget, you’ll need human resources too. If you have a team of employees, get them involved at this stage to find out exactly what skills are available to you, and inform them of what you’ll be working toward.
Marketing Tactics to Try in 2023
If 2023 is the year you’d like to try something new in terms of small business marketing, here are a few tactics to add to your marketing plan.
A Year of Sales - Sales are a longstanding marketing technique that small businesses benefit from. Planning sales at the start of the year will mean you have ample time to prepare the necessary resources and get the financials in order. There are multiple points throughout the year when sales are expected by consumers, like Labour Day and Black Friday. You can even set up personalized sales, such as offering your repeat buyers, or those on your mailing list, 20% off on their birthday.
Influencer Marketing - If 2023 is the year you’re going to focus on social media, one way your small business can take advantage is with influencer marketing. Around 93% of brands utilize influencer marketing to reach out to potential customers. By partnering with an influencer whose audience intersects with your own, you can advertise your products or services with a personal and trustworthy touch. You might like to send some things out to influencers in a PR package, in return for their honest and unbiased opinions posted to their social media page. Or, why not set up an affiliate marketing scheme, where the influencer receives benefits based on how successfully they drive traffic to your small business?
Live-Streaming - With the exponential success small businesses are finding on sites that enable live streaming, like Instagram and TikTok, 2023 is the year to sample this marketing technique. These sites are tailored to small businesses, as you can add links to products directly into your live stream. All you need is a charismatic social media manager and enough time to spend reaching out to potential customers. You can provide product demos, a tour of your premises, and offer benefits (such as free shipping) to those who purchase during a live stream. This marketing tactic is particularly effective if your customer base comprises mostly Millennial/Gen Z leads.
Conclusion
January is the best time to develop your marketing plan and set it in motion before other tasks start to mount up. Any goals you set are easy to measure as the year progresses, and you can evaluate your marketing plan at the end of the year to see how successful it was. So, the more in-depth you can make your marketing plan now, the simpler it will be to follow it and make necessary changes.
To organize your marketing plan effectively, use SMART goals, take advantage of any resources available to you, and tailor techniques to the customers you’re trying to convert. Remember, if you don’t think something is working, you can alter your marketing plan at any time. All that’s left to say is good luck!
Sources
https://asana.com/resources/marketing-trends
https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-statistics/
https://squareup.com/gb/en/townsquare/how-to-define-analyze-your-target-market
https://succeedasyourownboss.com/7-ways-to-jump-start-your-2023-small-business-marketing/
https://www.weidert.com/blog/annual-marketing-planning-process-steps
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/marketing-strategy
https://www.atlassian.com/blog/productivity/how-to-write-smart-goals
https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics
Add comment