How to Implement an Effective and Creative Marketing Plan

Marketing / 26 Oct 2021

There’s something about the cohesive combination of direction, deliverables, and details in a well-constructed marketing plan that instantly gets us inspired and ready to get stuck in. And as an extension of your agency providing white label copywriting and SEO services, that’s precisely what we’ll do.

Marketing your business without a plan is like going on a long journey without a destination, map, or trusty sat-nav. It never ends well. Before you know it, you’ve made all the wrong choices, depleted your budget, and have an impending sense of doom about what happens next.

A successful marketing plan (the rip-roaring road trip could have had if you’d thought things through) relies on several ingredients for success. We’ve broken them down below.

Marketing Plans That Work: Start With What You Know

The purpose of marketing is to educate and inform your community about your services and expertise. A marketing plan is the what, why, and how of your business’s marketing activities. One that works is based on data and determination to achieve the goals you set for yourself.

Your Vision, Mission, and Values

Your business’s vision, mission, and values are your North Star. Their place is at the forefront of all your business decisions and marketing tactics. It’s sensible to incorporate them into your marketing planning, keeping them ever-present in your mind’s eye.

Your Target Audience

Good plans always begin with the right questions and rigorous research. Knowing your audience is something we bang on about a lot (we’ve already talked about it in relation to brand voice and constructing buyer personas).

Always ensure you engage your current clients in your research process. It will help you gauge whether they’re your target audience and determine your place in your market. You can obtain invaluable insights by asking questions about:

•     What sets you apart from your closest competitors in the eyes of your clients?
•     What’s your competitive edge or USP?
•     Which of your services are like no other in your industry (hint: ours are white label copywriting and SEO services specifically for agencies)?

Your Market Position

A crucial part of any marketing activity is understanding your competition. It’s Business Studies 101. Therefore, the final piece of the ‘where we are now’ puzzle is benchmarking against your competitors.

Deep diving into what your competition offer, learning how they work, and analysing how they market themselves is a valuable exercise in deciding how not to position yourself.

Instantly differentiate yourself by asking, how are you unlike any other?

A SWOT analysis is constructive to articulate your findings. It pinpoints opportunities to sell more of your existing services to current clients, highlights potential new audiences to target, allows you to develop your suite of services (like adding copywriting services to your agency’s repertoire), and enhances your overarching product development.

Effective marketing planning is all about being creative in your approach and using the data you already have to scale your business.

Marketing Plans That Deliver: Know What You Want to Achieve and How

Metrics

No plan is complete without metrics to assess performance. Realistic KPIs and SMART goals are a must for every marketing plan. A plan will languish in the ether without deadlines to work to, and misguided metrics are a morale-mangler.

To ensure you and your team see changes, keep motivated, and get the results you deserve, set a balanced series of goals that are immediate (less than 6 months), short term priorities (less than 12 months), and long term metrics (between 12 and 24 months). 

Resource

Effective marketing plans require commitment and resources to deliver. Are you confident you have the resources you need to deliver on your goals within the agreed timescales?

Is the additional marketing workload realistic on top of the day job?

Be honest with yourself. If it isn’t, consider allocating additional resources to spread the load or instruct a specialist agency to handle other vital tasks like your copywriting services or SEO consultancy.

Reporting and Monitoring Progress

Your marketing plan is your roadmap for your business’s future growth. Regularly monitoring your progress against your goals is essential to ensure your path to progress is informed, efficient, and sustainable.

Things change. Sometimes, you’ll hit a dead-end when content performs poorly, and projected successes don’t happen. Adapt your route accordingly. Your goals, regular testing, monitoring, and analysis, will determine whether your journey takes you on a well-lit, spacious street or down a dubious dirt track of doom.

Want Us as Part of Your A-Team?

Like Hannibal and the gang, we love it when a (marketing) plan comes together.

As an industry-leading white label copywriting and SEO agency specifically for agencies like yours, we’ve got the moves, know-how, and tenacity to pull this thing off.

Book your discovery call. We’ll show you how we can support your agency to provide the engaging, high-converting marketing services it’s famous for – at an affordable reseller price.