Your marketing plan
Developing a marketing and promotional plan for your project, event or activity helps to consolidate your ideas and ensures you maximize your promotional budget. It's useful to do this at the same time as your operational planning. The marketing plan makes up just one strand of your overall annual communications plan.
Preparing your Marketing Plan
To plan your marketing strategy, here are some fundamental questions to ask. These are the steps to take in preparing your project's Marketing Plan:
- Define your audience: researching audience attitudes and demographics can help target audiences more effectively.
- Brainstorm ideas on the best ways of reaching your audience.
- Define your key objectives. They should be specific, measurable, achievable, time-bound and clearly define what you intend to do.
- Consider sensitive issues to be managed.
- Consider the timing of your communications to meet deadlines.
- Measuring the success of your project can provide useful justification for future funding approaches. Your results will indicate whether you received a satisfactory dollar return on your investment.
Download an example of a basic marketing plan [82kb PDF]. The plan is for an exhibition which will run for only two months, but its marketing plan begins from a full year prior to the event.
Market Research
Market research can help define your audience's understanding, attitudes, preferences, profile and lifestyle. Relevant areas of research include geodynamics, demographics, psychographics and lifestyle, attitudes, and purchase behaviour. Testing of a product, collateral or activity helps to determine its appeal. Research or testing may include focus groups with specific audience profiles, telephone surveys or polls, evaluation forms, response data gathered from a competition, research purchased from research companies or other organizations, or research provided by your funder or sponsor.
Tips for Budgeting
Your budget will limit the nature and extent of your promotions. Working with others can extend your budget and create a win-win situation. Think laterally and explore all options. Make your promotional budget go further by remembering:
- good planning prevents duplication and wastage
- researching and understanding audiences produces more targeted communications
- strategic financial planning prevents wastage and maximises resources
- careful checking of details prevents errors: check spelling, contact details, price, venue, times and always get another person to crosscheck.
- marketing literature provides an opportunity to promote your organisation as well as the offer or activity. Remember to add the name of your organisation, personnel details, contact details (telephone, fax, e-mail, website, postal address) and your logo. If there is room refer people to your website for forthcoming events.
Branding
Never miss a branding opportunity! Your brand reflects how you want your organisation to be perceived. All communications should promote a consistent image of your organisation. Your logo is just one part of your brand, but it is important to include it on all your marketing and communications material.