In my last post, I clarified that a marketing plan is more than just "what you plan to do do market your business." A marketing plan is the foundation for all of your marketing. And, while it absolutely does not need to be a big, thick document, it does require you to spend some time thinking about the business you are trying to create.
For example, the first you thing you need to determine is what are your goals and objectives? What do you want to accomplish over the next year in your business? I call this "painting your target." As when throwing darts, or shooting a bow and arrow, you don't just aim into the wild blue yonder, you aim at a target that has been placed on the wall.
Your goals and objectives establish your target. And, without them, you too are aiming into the wild blue yonder. Your marketing has no focus, because you haven't taken the time to determine what you are aiming for ... what results you want your marketing to achieve.
You must be specific about your goals. To just say, I want more clients or more sales, is not enough. That's like pointing your arrow in a direction, but not knowing where the target is. There's a chance you might hit the target, but odds are you won't, because you don't know where it is.
I encourage you to paint a clear target as one of the first steps in creating your marketing plan. Next week, we'll discuss two more key elements in your marketing plan.