When running a business, every owner has some sort of strategic marketing plan in place. The only question is, is it only in the owner’s head and takes a new shape after every decent idea? Or is the plan carved in stone sitting at the corner of a desk and hasn’t been changed for 20 years? Many would agree that finding the half-way mark between those two practices would lead to the most success, but how does one decide when a plan is too stagnant or too open-ended? Here at Autumn Consulting we look to find that balance for you as we know every situation is unique and every business is different.
Here are a couple ideas we at Autumn Consulting take into account when creating a strategic plan for you:
- The importance of having a written strategy.
– Having a strategy down on paper gives the business a chance to clarify and determine a path to success in language that everyone has the chance to see and understand. When the vision is clear and understandable by all levels in the business, a common goal is created and can be implemented in to the business more effectively. Also having a strategic marketing plan written down allows the owner to wrap their mental focus to the preparation of putting the plan into motion. Once the plan is defined, one can focus on initiatives such as “how much money will this cost” or “how much time is needed” in order for the plan to work. If strategy is not clear cut, it is close to impossible to start allocating resources to it.
- The importance of having flexibility in your strategy.
– Having a flexible strategy allows for innovation and creativity to reach a goal. While every task within a business doesn’t need great innovation to it, the overall vision of a business has to be able to change and adapt. Especially in today’s world where what was relevant last week may not be the next. There will always be frequent and inexorable changes in the market due to technology, buyer views or competitors entering the market. Tangible data should still be the forefront of most business decisions, but with new ideas and creating a system of monitoring how these ideas effect outcomes, this can help the business grow and also help understand what does not work for a business. Lastly, everyone knows that most plans do not go exactly as planned, doesn’t matter how much planning is put in to it, the part that no one knows is when exactly the plan will falter. With having flexibility in your strategic marketing plan, the idea is to be able to adapt and rebound and continue working towards that goal the company has originally planned, without a severe loss of productivity.
With these two main ideas and more we at Autumn Consulting look forward to helping you and your business find that balance in your strategic marketing plan.
Through Autumn Consulting’s collaborative style, we help our B2B clients increase their qualified prospects by zeroing in on the “right” marketing messages. These marketing messages directly support the sales force and increases their effectiveness. Let’s get started on a conversation for your business. Call Nathan Misirian at (262) 323-1776 or email him directly at nathan@autumnconsult.com
