So you're looking to develop a marketing plan. You might be a business owner or business manager. You might be a marketing expert, beginner, or pragmatic do-it-yourself person. Either way, our goal is to help you get that plan built in a logical, orderly way and accomplish your goals.
If you're already a marketing expert, we think we can still help you develop a plan. You probably already know all we have to offer about marketing strategy and tactics, but we can help you through the planning process, give you the step-by-step guide, and suggest a methodology for channeling what you know into a logically sequenced, orderly plan that you'll be able to implement. You know as well as anybody that marketing plans are not as generally accepted and defined as business plans, so the framework itself can help you get the job done.
If you're not a marketing expert, then look at this book as a practical guide to the basics, and a part of the process of developing a plan. We've tried to give you all you really need to know, from a practical point of view, to develop a marketing plan. This book includes details on how to develop your strategy, how to focus on key elements, analyze and research your market, develop strategy and tactics, project your sales and build your budget, so you can create a plan that you can implement.
Regardless of your background or experience, you want your marketing plan to be a useful document that describes your current situation, states your strategy, and outlines a pragmatic approach to accomplish your desired results.
Return on Investment (ROI) demanded of Marketing VP's YES, this excellent book is a basic primer for new students and non-savvy marketing VP's. And maybe that's where some folks should get back to? Back to the basics of reporting to their COO and CEO and CFO the ABC's of Marketing, Publicity and Advertising. WHAT'S THE ROI OF YOUR PLAN?
A= Is it Authorized?
B= Was it Budgeted?
C= Will it be Cost effective?
For too long, too many Marketing, Publicity and Advertising folks have gone to their bosses and submitted proposals as high as 50 million dollars and gotten it. Six months later, the product was pulled from the shelves and the funds had been wasted.
This book is a basic, hard school of knocks which helps a creative person establish and lay out what and how and who will be responsible for budgeting and producing results. There are no shortage of great ideas, great campaigns, great new jingles and slogans coming from top agencies, worldwide - for a hefty multi-million dollar cost.
Having worked for the largest ad and marketing company in the world (which owns almost 100 companies) there are at least a half dozen colleagues whom could care less if the CAMPAIGN produced any sales results. This book puts an end to irresponsible behavior.
You can't have your income of 400k per year anymore if you can't prove the ROI or prove sales were lifted or the P & L benefited! Just because you have a great marketing idea - doesn't mean you get your requested project budget!
YES, my own family's company that we have helped created enduring slogans that MADE MONEY FOR PEOPLE like, "When it rains it pours," for Morton Salt - "Reach out and touch someone," for Bell Telephone (my Uncle Tony Galli) and others like, "A diamond is forever." These ideas and jingles or slogans with campaigns made and make money still for clients - even after 100 years they are still being used today.
What I found in Tim Berry's and Doug Wilson's book and software program is that they are holding people accountable for their proposals. And that is a back to the basics, school desk approach that most CEO's, COO's and CFO's find refreshing. Forecasting is key but so is Actual Results for Sales.
To this day, I can't erase from my mind a senior VP at a major ad agency telling me, "the 20 million dollar campaign we handled was for delivery of an excellent campaign - we have no responsibility or interest in the financial results for the client."
In this case, the client was a Fortune 100 client...
Sunday School Book Have you ever heard of a SWOT analysis? If you have, then this book is not for you. This book is very good for an entry level book. The authors have very little successful experience in business plan writing and the tasks they include are elementary. You would be much better off reading and intro to marketing textbook instead. The textbook would cover fundamentals of marketing. I respect the authors background, but most people would be better off with a different book.
Practical and it worked! This is a great way to get your arms around doing the some times challenging task of writing a marketing plan. It takes you through the process step-by-step and it is filled with great resources, especially the current web sites it suggests. A great way to get that plan accomplished with solid coaching throughout. These guys know what they are doing!
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
