Dear #Gaians,
Now that the Gravity activity of preparing a marketing plan is over, I would like to give you feedback on what our expectations were and what lessons you can take away from this experience.
Marketing plan elaboration:
The main aspects to take into consideration when deciding which actions to put into place are:
- The product: What are its attributes? What value does it offer to the customer? Does it have a competitive advantage?
- Customer segmentation/audience: For whom are we creating value? Who are our most important or/and valuable customers? What drives customers to buy our product/service and can we address them differently based on it? How well is the market segmented? Have we profiles of the different segments?
- Targeting/channels: Have we selected our targeted segments based on rational and empirical (based on research and data) attractiveness?
- Positioning: Have we developed positioning concepts for each target segment? Have we selected, developed and communicated the product/service appropriately? Have we created a positioning statement? Positioning statement: “For (target customer)who (statement of need/opportunity)the (product name) is a (product category)that (core benefit proposition).Unlike (primary competitive alternative),our product (point of difference).”
Regarding what values should be considered when creating a marketing plan, here you have a few:
- Clear objectives: it can be increasing sales, improving brand recognition, et cetera. This objective (or objectives) should be the driver of the whole campaign.
- Originality/innovation: Compare the marketing plan with what has been and is being done in the sector the product/service is. Getting inspiration from other sectors and products can be very positive.
- Variety/diversity: We don’t want to put all our eggs in one single basket. That’s why a successful marketing plan usually includes a variety of actions that use different channels to reach different audiences at different moments and hence create different types of impacts.
- Feasibility/realism: what can we (and the company we represent) could do versus what we would like to do. Never lose optimism, but be rational and realistic.
- Simplicity: how simple and clearly the product or service is conveyed is key. The marketing plan should focus on one or two key features of the product/service, the ones that make it different or unique (the unique selling proposition – USP) and create the plan and campaign around them.
- Surprise: go beyond the expected or traditional and offer something that enamors the customer/client. It might sound hard to achieve, but if the team really understands the product, the market and the customer, will find it easy to touch their hearts and create a bond.
- Cost/budget: although it was not part of the proposal, it should always be a pivotal part of your marketing planning.
In closing, I would like to add that I hope this exercise has posed a great opportunity to reflect upon communicating a product or service, the intricacies and the complications of it.
There are few ideas that, above all, should prevail:
- There’s no “one size fits all” marketing plan: in order to create and implement an effective marketing plan we need to research, plan, develop and adjust in order to reach our audience and achieve the desired action or effect.
- As Dwight David Eisenhower said “plans are useless but planning is indispensable”: plan, think in advance, try to anticipate the consumer behavior. But never hesitate adjusting the plan when new circumstances appear.
- Know and honor your audience: who are they, where are they, how do they consume your product, what are their likes and dislikes. You must always know your audience and work accordingly. Trying do educate them or underestimating them will be totally counterproductive.
And, beyond everything, the key concept any marketing team should keep present at all times is MEASURE, MEASURE, MEASURE. Keeping track of your performance and being able to analyze and extract information out of it is precious.
María Picatoste
