SPAN s Marketing Plan Workbook A Guide for Turning Ideas into Action

Transcription

1 SPAN s Marketing Plan Workbook A Guide for Turning Ideas into Action

2 SPAN s Marketing Plan Workbook A Guide for Turning Ideas into Action 2004 SPAN Press. Printed and bound in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the Web without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, please contact the Small Publishers Association of North America, PO Box 9725 Colorado Springs CO , Although the publisher has made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of information contained in this book, we assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any inconsistency herein. Any slights of people, places, or organizations are unintentional. First Printing, 2004 Second printing, 2005 Third Printing, 2006 E-book Version 2008 E-book Updated 2011 ISBN LCCN

3 Table of Contents Introduction: The Aim of Marketing 4 Chapter 1 What Goes into a Marketing Plan? 5 Chapter 2 Look at Your Business Now 6 Chapter 3 Write Your Mission Statement 9 Chapter 4 Conduct Market Research 10 Chapter 5 Create Objectives 16 Chapter 6 Generate Your Message 18 Chapter 7 List Marketing Project Ideas 21 Chapter 8 Select and Implement Your Projects 23 Chapter 9 Evaluate Your Progress 26 Chapter 10 What s Next: Marketing is Cyclic 27 Appendix A Bibliography 28 Appendix B Action Plan Sheets 29 3

4 Introduction The aim of marketing is to generate customers for your business. The purpose of a marketing plan is to answer the questions: What should I sell? Whom should I sell it to? How do I sell it to them? This workbook will guide you through the basics that need to be answered when creating a marketing plan. From the general (mission statement and objectives) to the specific (tasks and deadlines), you will create a custom plan focused on your unique business situation. Since the plan is unique to you, there are no wrong answers. Your plan is a dynamic document and will change over time as you hear new ideas and consider new possibilities. Actually, you are creating the first draft of a plan. It is not forever. This dynamic quality should make it easier to answer the questions and complete the lists in the following exercises. In the workbook, we make use of one of the unchanging foundations of modern marketing: the Four Ps. All marketing activities can be categorized under Product, Place, Promotion, and Price. Several of the exercises use these four pigeonholes to place ideas, projects, strengths, weaknesses, and other concepts. By using the Four Ps, you are covering all the marketing bases. One of the repeated activities in the workbook is written brainstorming and list making. As most of us know, brainstorming is simply writing down all ideas, without considering whether they are good, workable ideas or not. In making your initial lists, don t judge the ideas at first. You will pick the practical, feasible ideas later. Any and all ideas are OK. They may come from your experience, from an outside-source, or from your fellow publishers. You are here because you are creative, adventurous, and want to improve your publishing business. Happy planning! 4

5 Chapter 1 What Goes into a Marketing Plan? Why create a marketing plan? What is it good for? What does it do? To repeat from the Introduction: The aim of marketing is to generate customers for your business. The purpose of a marketing plan is to answer the questions: What should I sell? Whom should I sell it to? How do I sell it to them? The final result of your plan will be your Action Plan Sheets (see Appendix B). The Action Plan will consist of prioritized projects that will ultimately create customers for your business. Your Action Plan Sheets will contain tasks, responsibilities, and deadlines and will be your To Do list. The following is a brief outline of the process. Examine your company s current situation Write your mission statement Conduct market research Create objectives List alternative marketing projects Decide on marketing projects Write and implement action plans Evaluate results when your projects are finished 5

6 Chapter 2 Look at Your Business Now Most marketers don t start from scratch. Usually they already have a product with promotional projects, a distribution method (place), and a pricing structure. Answer the following questions about your Four Ps at this time. Product What are you selling? Place Where are you selling your products? Promotion What are your promotional/marketing projects? 6

7 Price What are your prices and policies regarding terms, markups, returns, etc.? Conduct a SWOT Analysis Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats A SWOT Analysis is a simple, powerful process for learning about your business. The strengths and weaknesses apply to internal factors within your business. For example, strengths could be the quality of your product or your selling skills. Weaknesses might be your lack of financial resources or a bad location. Opportunities and threats relate to external circumstances. Describe the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats relative to your business: Strengths Weaknesses 7

8 Opportunities Threats 8

9 Chapter 3 Write Your Mission Statement Write a simple Mission Statement for your business. Give yourself permission to change it during the marketing plan process. You may soon get some new ideas that change your mission! Keep it to no more than four sentences. What am I selling? It s not just a book. What are you really selling? Information? Entertainment? New ways of thinking? Whom am I going to sell it to? Using your answers above, write your Mission Statement. 9

10 Chapter 4 Conduct Market Research Market research is the process of collecting information on your potential customers and competitors. The purpose is to identify your best potential customers. Our marketing research process has three steps: 1. Determine what you want to know. 2. Conduct the research on your potential customers and competition. 3. Organize your research into a usable form. Determine What You Want to Know. Customers Write down questions you would like to investigate about your potential customers and your competition. What do you want to know about your customers needs and motivations? 10

11 What do you want to know about your customers demographics? (For example: age, ethnicity, occupation, gender) What do you want to know about your customers buying behavior? What do you want to know about your customers media preferences? 11

12 Conduct Research Learn about your customers Primary Information Primary information is data you collect yourself, usually in the form of surveys. The surveys can range from written forms to informal conversations. What are ways you can get primary information about your potential customers? Secondary Information Secondary sources can come from many places, both inside and outside of your company. Internal Information What information can you compile on your customers from your own records (sales, shipping, customer lists, previous research, etc.)? 12

13 External Information What kind of information can you obtain on your customers from outside sources? Where can it be found (Web sites, libraries, magazines, etc.)? Organize Your Research Define and prioritize three target markets with customer profiles. What does your best customer look like with respect to demographics, buying behavior, and media preferences? (For example, a customer profile for a car repair book might be single females living in the suburbs who read magazines.) 13

14 Learn About Your Competition Who are your competitors? What do you want to learn about your competitors products, places, promotions, and prices? What are your competitors products? How are they promoting, placing, and pricing them? 14

15 How is your competition s product better than yours? How is it worse? What ideas and practices of your competitors can you adapt for your own use? 15

16 Chapter 5 Create Objectives Objectives are what you want to accomplish, and by when. Objectives have two parts. The first is a clear and quantifiable task. The second is a deadline. Objectives can be big, such as I want to retire in ten years with the same income I have now. Or they can be smaller, like I want to buy stamps at the post office before lunch. Many times in the planning process you will create objectives, large and small. In this section you are being asked to develop objectives for your sales, profits, and budgets. Although these objectives should be specific with an outcome and deadline, it is important to realize they can (and probably should) change as you move through the planning process. Note: In this workbook, the concepts objectives and goals will be considered interchangeable. Develop Objectives Develop objectives in the general categories of sales, profits, and budgets. In a later chapter, you will develop objectives for specific marketing projects. Complete these sentences (or write your own): Sales I want to sell units by (date). Profits I want to generate $ in profit by (date). Budget I want my marketing budget to be $ during this time period. 16

17 Write additional objectives pertaining to your specific situation (sales, profit, and budget). 17

18 Chapter 6 Generate Your Message You want to write a message that motivates your potential customers to buy your product. Almost always, the only reason a person buys something is for their own gain. Customers respond to product benefits. Understanding your product benefits is critical in writing your message. What is a benefit? The dictionary says a benefit is something that enhances or promotes well-being. In developing your list of benefits, you should consider what needs your product satisfies and apply them to your top target markets. When you understand your target customers needs, you can write your benefits. Benefits are different from features. Features are your product s actions or its characteristics. For example, the benefit of an automobile airbag is its safety. A feature may be its speed of deployment or the composition of its fabric. People want cars with airbags because of the safety benefit, not a feature. List Your Benefits and Unique Selling Proposition (USP) What are your three target markets from the market research section on page 10? List the needs your product satisfies for these customers. Some needs could include financial security, safety, love, entertainment, and good health. 18

19 Describe the benefits your product provides to your customers. Benefits could be concepts like becoming richer, slimmer, happier, healthier, or better educated on a specific topic. What is your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)? What is the one benefit that has the most impact and is the best motivator for your customers? This is your USP. Write a Message What do you want your message to accomplish? If you have multiple products, you can generate several messages. Write several message objectives. (Possibilities might be Sell product through the Internet to my seminar. ) 19

20 Brainstorm possible messages. Make a list of any and all ideas based on your benefits and especially your USP. Slim them down to three you feel will best motivate your potential customers. Put a star next to the one you believe will work best. 20

21 Chapter 7 List Marketing Project Ideas Make lists of possible marketing projects for each of the Four P areas (Product, Place, Promotion, Price). At this stage, any and all ideas are OK. Do keep in mind your target markets and objectives from earlier sections. You will decide on your Action Plan of projects in the next section. Brainstorm marketing projects for product: Brainstorm marketing projects for price: 21

22 Brainstorm marketing projects for place/distribution: Brainstorm marketing projects for promotion: 22

23 Chapter 8 Select and Implement Your Marketing Projects Brainstorming ideas and generating lists are relatively easy exercises compared with the demands of decision-making and implementation. In this section, you will have to decide which projects you will tackle, construct time lines, and figure out who will do the work. Here is a process to help you choose your mix of effective projects. Identify Existing Projects and Commitments Write down any existing marketing projects and future commitments: Slim Them Down From your brainstorm lists (in Chapter 7 page 21), choose up to three favorites in each of the Product, Price, Place, and Promotion categories. Look at your objectives (Chapter 5 page 16) and your target markets in each of these areas to make sure this is really where you want to go. 23

24 Combine Your Projects into Major Categories Your projects will probably cluster into major categories. For instance, you may have several web site or public relations projects. Combine your projects into three or four major groups. Choose Four Projects Choose four projects that match your objectives. Match your resources including your talents, interests, finances, and time. 24

25 Develop Action Plans An action plan assigns tasks, responsibilities and deadlines to your projects. At the top of your Action Plan Sheet, identify a marketing project you want to implement. Create an objective for the project; include both a measurable result and a deadline. There are five Action Plan Sheets in Appendix B, page 29. Write a list of tasks you need to complete to accomplish the project. Include responsibilities and deadlines for each task. In the example below, the project is to Sell products on the SPAN Web site and the objective is to Have 10 products on the Web site by July 1, 2006." The four tasks outline different parts of the project, who will do them, and when they will start and finish. Sample Action Plan Project: Sell Products on the the SPAN Web site Objective: Have 10 products on the Web site by July 1, 2006 Task Person Start Date Finish Date Study shopping cart svcs. Sally Jan 1, 06 Jan 30, 06 Develop e-books Bob Feb.1, 06 May 1, 06 Design Web pages Betty May 1, 06 June 1, 06 Promote products Sally June 1, 06 July 1, 06 25

26 Chapter 9 Evaluate Your Progress Evaluating your results is an important step on the road to success. Many times we move on to the next project without taking the time to formally record an evaluation of the process. As a follow-up to the marketing plan projects, we need to write down what we accomplished and what we learned. Here is a simple evaluation process: Write down your objective for the project, and then write down your results. For example, your objective might be I will do 20 radio interviews in Write a report about the projects. What went well? What did not go well? What would you do the same or differently next time? 26

27 Chapter 10 What s Next: Marketing is Cyclic Like the seasons, marketing planning and implementation is cyclic. One project finishes and another starts. There may be a beginning, but there is no end, as long as you are seeking out customers and selling a product. SPAN s Marketing Plan Workbook is intended to be a starting point. It is a framework for all the myriad ideas, disciplines, and processes involved in book publishing. Marketing, by definition, is customer centered. You will be successful if you use the planning process and the Four Ps to: Create a product attractive to your target customers Promote in a way that appeals to your customers Sell in a convenient place Provide your product at a competitive price For many authors, marketing is not their first profession. They are in medicine, education, technology, law, and dozens of other careers. To sell books you need to think of yourself as a marketer. You don t have to think of yourself as a marketer first. Of all the labels you put on yourself employee, businessperson, parent, golfer, swimmer, or activist being a marketer should be close to the top. SPAN s mission is to educate and empower independent publishers and authors. Marketing and other business topics make up the largest part of our educational efforts. We would love to hear your marketing experiences. Our online community, SPANnet.org, is a great place for you to share them. Share your stories, and especially your planning experiences online in our Marketing Group Again, happy planning! Brad Poulson, SPAN Executive Director September

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29 Appendix A Bibliography Bangs, David H., Jr. The Market Planning Guide: Creating a Plan to Successfully Market Your Business, Product or Service. Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing, Fry, Patricia. The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book A Comprehensive Guide to Successful Authorship. Ojai, CA: Matilija Press, 2006 Jud, Brian. Beyond the Bookstore: How to Sell More Books Profitably to Non- Bookstore Markets. New York: Reed Business Press, Kampmann, Eric. The Midpoint Handbook: The 7 Keys to Publishing Success. New York: Midpoint Trade Books, 2006 Koberg, Don and Jim Bagnal. The Universal Traveler: A Soft-Systems Guide to Creativity, Problem Solving and the Process of Reaching Goals. Menlo Park, CA: Crisp Publications, Kremer, John Ways to Market Your Books. Fairfield, IA: Open Horizons, Levinson, Jay Conrad, Rick Frishman, and Michael Larsen. Guerilla Marketing for Writers: 100 Weapons for Selling Your Work. Cincinnati: Writer s Digest Books, Reiss, Fern. The Publishing Game: Bestseller in 30 Days. Newton, MA: Peanut Butter and Jelly Press, Ross, Marilyn. The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing. Cincinnati: Writer s Digest Books, Sansevieri, Penny. From Book to Bestseller. Hewlett, NY: PublishingGold.com,

30 Appendix B Action Plan Sheet Project Objective Task Person Start Date Finish Date 30

31 Action Plan Sheet Project Objective Task Person Start Date Finish Date 31

32 Action Plan Sheet Project Objective Task Person Start Date Finish Date 32

33 Action Plan Sheet Project Objective Task Person Start Date Finish Date 33

34 Action Plan Sheet Project Objective Task Person Start Date Finish Date 34