Classic Small Business Marketing Plan

by on July 8, 2011 in Marketing

Yesterday I wrote a post about using classic marketing plans in small business, but I didn’t really provide an outline for one.  So, here you go.

I’ve talked to hundreds of small business owners about marketing.  99% of them could grow their business significantly and quickly — if they just did this:

  • Build a really good list of 100 potential customers (or existing customers who could buy a lot more)
  • Make a simple plan to communicate with that group every week for 10 to 12 weeks
  • Actually do it (like it mattered)
Yup, it’s that simple.  Almost nobody ever does it.  Your business will grow if you do.
Need more detail?  Here’s some more meat about each of the 3 steps above:

Build a really good list

Start a database where you can keep all your contacts (often called a CRM or customer relationship manager).

I use something called Highrise but I also like Batchblue and several others.

Next just get on the phone and online and dig deep to make sure you have accurate emails, cell phones and addresses
for each person on your list.  Here’s a tip.  Just call them and ask!
Without this list (and really solid, accurate data) your plan will fail.  So work hard on this upfront and keep it current.  Every time you talk with one of your prospects, ask them to reconfirm that the info is correct.  You’ll be surprised how often it changes.

A Simple Plan

You just want to keep your name and your business name in front of everyone on the list consistantly.  So how do you do that without being a pest?  
How about a plan like this:

Week Classic Social
Wk 1 Mail an old-school letter Write helpful blogpost
Wk 2 Phone calls – block a full day Send group email in Mailchimp or other
Wk 3 Send personal email to each person Record 90 second video. Share on FB
Wk 4 Deliver Office Plant Friend requests on Facebook
Wk 5 Mail Something Cool Send notes on Facebook
Wk 6 Phone calls – block a full day Write a useful blog post

You get the idea, right? You can fill in the rest of the weeks with stuff that meets your style.

Note: spend more money on high quality ‘touches’ and client gifts in proportion to the value of each client. If one client is worth $10k, you should spend WAY more per client than someone who’s average client revenue is only $50. Make sense?
After that it’s just ‘rinse, modify and repeat’ :)

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