So often, companies create a marketing plan based on how they can they can increase the volume of sales in a given time period.
This is completely understandable: if your company isn’t selling, it will rapidly die.
However, in the marketing team’s mind, the emphasis on getting sales is slightly different from how the prospective client or customer sees things!
In the prospect’s mind will be several questions; paramount amongst these will undoubtedly be:
“How will purchasing this product or service benefit me?”
Instead, then, the marketing team should make its plan customer-centric: here are 5 broad questions that can be used as you form your marketing plan:
What/who are your targets?
What do they care about? What outcome are they seeking?
Where do you find them?
What or who influences them?
How do they want to engage and (eventually) buy?
You might be able to think of many more – I suggest no more than 10 questions however, otherwise you will lose the simplicity and focus that comes with a disciplined approach.
This is a re-hash of an article that first appeared here: http://www.business-strategy-innovation.com/wordpress/2010/07/how-to-write-a-marketing-plan-with-five-questions/