Above the noise: a well-defined marketing plan can set you apart from the competition

California CPA, Dec, 2004 by Sharon Berman

Writing a marketing plan often falls into the same category as going for a regular physical or getting your car tuned up--you know you should do it, but you always seem to find excuses for putting it off. However, just like the physical and tune-up, it is time well spent that will pay off in the long run.

Think about the advice you give to clients regarding their businesses. You urge them to carefully monitor their costs and profit margins and stay on top of their ratios. The result? Improved profitability and a more secure financial future.

It's the same with a marketing plan. Your investment of time and effort can yield much greater benefits than a haphazard approach to marketing your services.

If you're daunted by the thought of writing a long, voluminous plan, change your mantra and think--streamlined. Create a straightforward document that maps out your marketing efforts.

Treat your plan as a living document that you can reshape as your business changes, or as you identify key trends that may provide opportunities. By setting goals in your marketing plan, you can assess how you are doing and readjust your goals and plan as the months unfold.

A marketing plan can help you get more bang for your marketing buck by keeping you focused on your goals.

STEP 1: SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

Like a balance sheet, a situational analysis provides a picture of where your business stands today. However, you'll also look at where your business has come from and where your want to go. This is the foundation for the rest of your marketing plan.

Determining your professional strengths and weaknesses. What activities in your work do you enjoy? What do you dread? It's important to be honest because most people excel at the things they enjoy. You'll give yourself a strategic advantage by concentrating your efforts in the areas in which your enjoyment--and attention--give you the greatest opportunity for success.

Next, take a look at your business and the marketplace. What does your organization do best? Consider, too, your firm's marketing strengths and weaknesses. Are you great at creating relationships, but not so good at keeping up with them over the long-term? Maybe you are skilled at planning wonderful campaigns, but not so good at executing them.

Take a look at your firm's financial data. What can you learn from your billing patterns and the types of services clients have been buying--and when? Don't be afraid to ask your clients about what they buy and why.

Next, compare your services against your competition. Look for overlaps of service and--most important--market niches that are ripe for a new service that you might be able to supply.

Finally, broaden your research to encompass your entire profession. Talk with referral sources, clients, colleagues and competitors about professional trends and hot issues, new market opportunities and technology that relate to your area of work.

STEP 2: PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES

As you begin to study the elements that make up your situational analysis, you'll start identifying problems in your business that need solving--as well as opportunities that your competitors are missing.

STEP 3: TARGET MARKETS

This is the "who" of your plan. Who is going to buy your services? Think broadly across geography, industries, company sizes, etc. Divide your group into primary and secondary markets, and don't forget your current clients and referral sources. Segmenting your markets can help you decide how to best divide your marketing dollars to have the optimal impact.

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STEP 4: MARKETING OBJECTIVES

This is the "what" of your plan and can include both sales and marketing goals. Set both short-term goals (a year or less) and long-term goals.

Set your targets for the year, with interim quarterly objectives, then project out. Be specific about dollar amounts and time frame.

For example, one marketing objective might be to gross $600,000 in tax consulting services over the next year, 10 percent of which will come from companies involved in new technology, an underdeveloped niche you discovered during your situational analysis.

To set realistic sales goals, examine your financial picture and do some massaging. First, look at the trends in your overall sales and your sales by service line for the past few years and project them out for your proposed time period. Reconcile the two numbers to come up with a top-line forecast figure.

Second, do a bottom-up prediction by factoring in the amount of business you and your colleagues realistically plan to pull in, projections of repeat business and estimates of other new income. Consider talking with clients about their projections regarding the extent of your services they intend to use.

Your top-down and bottom-up numbers are likely to differ, but you can find a common ground by considering market factors, trends, your company's future plans, etc. Your business sense will guide you in finding an appropriate final sales goal.

As far as marketing goals, you're looking at what you want the target markets to do. Outline the actions you want them to take.