Why Most Marketing Plans Fail

July marks the halfway point in 2015 so it’s a great time to review your progress compared to the marketing plan and goals you set in January.  Are you ahead of your projections? Behind? Or are you not sure where you filed your marketing plan? :)

We all know it’s important to set goals and create a plan of attack around January every year.  However, that activity will never have a big impact on your business unless you actually USE your plan.   This is counter to what we learn in school, which is why I think it’s so hard to break the habit.

Why We’re Programmed to Never Review Our Marketing Plans

In school, when we write papers and hand in reports, they are done.  If you were like me, then you probably NEVER read that paper or report again.  The teacher read it, gave you a grade, and you moved on to the next assignment.  That was the process for me in every single grade, including college.

Because of that “training” for about 16 years, we all tend to approach our marketing plan document the same way. We go through the grueling process to write the plan, maybe pull an all-nighter or two to hit our self-inflicted deadline, and then we mark that task complete.

What happens next?  The plan most likely sits on your desk, in a filing cabinet, or in a folder on your computer until half the year or maybe even the entire year has gone by.  Again, this is no different from all those papers you wrote in school and never read again.  It was good exercise to hone your writing skills, but a lousy way to execute and improve your marketing.

Your Marketing Plan Is a Training Program (Not a Report)

The solution to this problem is quite simple: don’t think of your marketing plan as a document or a report.  If you do, then you’ll naturally struggle to go back and review the plan throughout the year.  Remember, our brains have been programmed from school to believe reports don’t need to be reviewed after they are completed.

Instead, think of your marketing plan like a training program.  More specifically, I like to think of my plan like a marathon training program.  Here are a few of the reasons why this change in mindset will help you achieve more of your marketing goals in the remainder of this year.

You Must Continually Review Training Programs

If you have ever followed a training program, then you know that you have to continually review the plan to see what you are supposed to do each day, week, and month.  Personally, I find it’s easiest to print the program and hang it on my refrigerator so that I can quickly see when and what my workout is going to be for the week.  I know if I just stick to the plan, then I’ll be physically ready in November for the marathon.

I doubt many people reading this have their marketing plan hanging on their refrigerator. :)  But if you did have your plan more visible, then you would know what you need to do each day, week, and month to hit your goals.  In other words, you would stay more focused and ignore distractions that are not integral to the plan you already set.

Training Programs Have Clearly Defined & Attainable Milestones

When I was training for my first marathon, I had a real fear that I wasn’t going to finish.  I’m sure just about every first timer has that same fear.  26.2 miles almost sounds impossible unless you’ve done it before.

The beauty of a marathon training program is how it makes each milestone attainable.  By the time you need to run 10 miles, you’ve already run an 8 miler.  By the time you need to run 20 miles, you will have completed an 18 mile run.  Running just 2 more miles doesn’t sound too bad.

That’s exactly what your marketing plan should do as well.  Your plan should list incremental milestones that lead up to your ultimate goal.

Training Programs Are Created By Experts

Would you trust a marathon training program that was created by someone who never ran or coached an athlete to run a marathon?

I definitely would not.  Unless you’re trying to break a world record, someone has already done what you’re trying to achieve.  All you need to do is go find and follow that training program.  I’m not implying it’ll be easy.  It’ll certainly be hard, but at least you’ll be following a proven training program developed by an expert.

The same approach should be taken with your marketing plan.  There are no extra points for creating your plan completely on your own.  In fact there is no benefit at all to planning without expert advice. Find business owners and consultants who have already hit your goals.  Then follow a similar training program.  It won’t be easy, but you’ll have the confidence you’re on the right track!

3 Steps to Reel In Customers from Social Media Marketing

In this article, I'll explain as I walk through the 3 steps to social media marketing success.  You'll see that one step alone doesn't do much for your business.  You need all three working together.

1. Build Your Audience

This should be obvious, but social media relies on first building an audience.  If you don't have an audience then no one is going to read your posts.

When you're first starting out and you don't have an audience, it's like fishing in a pond or a section of a pond that has no fish.  It doesn't matter if you're the best fisherman using the best gear, you're not going to catch any fish!

That means you need to adjust your goals in the early stages of social media marketing.  If you expect to drive sales right away, then you're going to be disappointed.  Instead, focus on tactics to build your target audience first.

2. Engage Your Audience

Now we get to the true secret behind the Banjo minnow.  When you watch the training video, you learn how to cast and reel in the lure to give it the lifelike action described in the commercial.  Again, if you just cast and reel in the lure normally, then the Banjo minnow does not work!  I've tested both ways. 

You must use the technique in the video.

The reason why the lure works is because the action engages the fish -- it catches the fish's attention.  That's the secret to fishing right there.  You need to use a lure combined with the correct action to get a fish to bite.

The same thing is true with social media.  You must engage your audience with the right content, at the right frequency, to maintain the attention of your target market.

3. Convert Your Audience

Finally, we get to the step we all tend to focus on: conversion.  As I mentioned earlier in step 1, it's not realistic to expect conversions when you're just starting out with social media and you do not yet have an audience.  It's also not realistic to expect conversions if you are not yet engaging with your audience as explained in step 2 above.  As you can see, the order of these steps matters greatly.

When you're fishing, you need to first pick a spot where you know there are fish.  That's step 1.  Then the next step is to find the right lure and action that engages the fish you're targeting.  In my case, the Banjo minnow is perfect for catching pickerel!  The final step is to reel in the fish.  That's the conversion step. It's also the part of fishing where you have the most fun.  Everything up until the reeling in is basically hard work and trial and error to find the most engaging lure and action.

In other words, focus on finding the right types of content (informational, educational, inspirational, entertaining) for your social media, and then step 3 will get a whole lot easier (and more fun).

Still not active on social media? 3 Reasons to Invest in Social Media

If you’re skeptical about social media, you’re not alone. I was actually very skeptical for a long time. But now I truly believe that every business should be active on social media. And here’s why...

3 Reasons to Invest in Social Media

1. To Boost Your SEO.

Social media is a growing factor in Google’s ranking algorithm.  If you're not active on social media, prepare to see your more "social" competitors climb above you in Google in the months and years to come. (Don’t say I didn’t warn you...)

2. To Control Your Online Reputation.

More and more customers are checking out businesses on social media sites and reading reviews before deciding whether or not to do business with a particular company.  Staying active on social media is one of the best ways to cultivate a positive online reputation (so you attract more customers).

3. To Strengthen Customer Relationships.

Nothing is more valuable in your business than your customer relationships. And social media is one of the best ways to build stronger relationships with prospects and customers, so you close more initial sales, get more repeat sales, and generate more referrals.

Too busy to manage your social media?  

Let us manage it for you.