This article will show you how to create a successful marketing plan using what I call the “Power of P”, Product. Price. Promotion. Position. People.
How To Create A Successful Marketing Plan
If you’re going to increase and/or scale your business, creating an effective marketing plan is essential.
To be effective it is critical to understand and serve your target audience in the most effective way.
In short…
Provide value.
But you need a plan.
A plan will help you manage your time, resources and strategies to lead your prospects through your sales funnel and turn them into customers.
Preferably repeat customers.
Gaining and building your brand is crucial for the success of your business and an effective marketing plan can do just that.
But how?
Let’s face it. The world, as we once knew it, has changed rapidly.
You have to change with it.
Thus, business and marketing strategies are ever-evolving, so it’s important to stay flexible and make adjustments accordingly.
In this article I’ll discuss what I call the Power of P – a strategy to show you how to create a successful marketing plan.
How To Create A Successful Marketing Plan
Product
When it comes to selling a product, what’s most important is to be an answer to someone’s question – providing a solution to someone’s problem.
Whether the need is emotional, physical, mental or financial – they will seek the product or service that resolves their issue.
People pay for solutions!
Additionally, you must be flexible. Willing to change. To make adjustments.
Don’t believe this?
Just ask Blockbuster.
Initially, they offered a solution for consumers seeking at-home entertainment. You could rent a movie for a small fee and the whole family could enjoy it.
It was relatively cheap and convenient. No overpriced condiments. No wrestling with the kids.
Simple.
But there were flaws.
I know for me, there was the inconvenience of having to actually go pick up the movie but moreover “returning” it was often anything but convenient.
And those LATE FEES? Ridiculous!
Worst still, at least for Blockbusters, was that change was coming.
DVD technology was emerging. High bandwidth internet was becoming more readily available and people wanted an alternative.
Blockbuster didn’t pivot. They didn’t adjust.
Success, I believe, had made them comfortable.
Netflix had insight and foresight.
They had assessed the marketplace. They understood their customer’s needs and molded their business plans around those needs.
Furthermore, they offered both streaming and DVD’s delivered right to your home.
And as DVD’s were becoming obsolete – they double-downed on streaming – creating and acquiring vast amounts of content.
In other words… they shifted. Adjusted. They were flexible.
But Wait…
What if you don’t have a product?
Well, I’m glad you asked.
If you landed here searching for something in the affiliate marketing space… you probably know the answer.
Sell someone else’s product – become an affiliate.
But how?
And where do I find great products?
Good news…
I’ve written a number of articles that can help you with that. I would start with: How To Make Money With Clickbank
How To Create A Successful Marketing Plan
Price
The correct pricing of your products is also crucial.
Pricing structures can vary greatly from one company to another.
Some companies can price their products much higher than others because of their value – real or perceived.
For example just think of high-end products like Prada, Louis Vuitton and Apple, are they really that much better than their competitors?
Or is it a matter of market share, promotion and branding?
These are major companies with huge budgets and resources which they’ve successfully used to build their brand.
But as a smaller company or entrepreneur – you will have to be far more discriminating and strategic.
What are the trends? Who’s the competition? What environment are you operating in?
Covid-19, for instance, has really pushed the on-line consumer model.
Consider this…
Amazon made more money in the first 9 months of 2020 than the whole of 2019. And 2019 was a record year.
Competitor analysis is often a great place to start. You need not reinvent the wheel, as they say. See what’s already working and then go a step beyond.
Carve out a niche. Go the extra mile. Improve on what they’re already doing.
How To Create A Successful Marketing Plan
The Numbers
You need to be constantly accessing your numbers and make adjustments accordingly.
You ever notice how gas prices seem to all be relatively the same from station to station? The owners are in perpetual spy-mode on each other.
What is Google Analytics telling you about your customer? Where did they come from? How do they navigate your site? How long do they stay?
Knowing your numbers is essential.
Now as an affiliate marketer, if you haven’t created a product yet, obviously you won’t have control of the products you are promoting.
However, what you can do is pick products with features and price points that have proven themselves in the market.
How To Create A Successful Marketing Plan
Promotion
There are many so-called Gurus in marketing. Specifically in the affiliate marketing place, who will try to make you believe that the marketing is easy.
Just grab an affiliate link – spam it in as many places as possible and voilà instant success – millions rolling in.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
It takes strategic planning, constant analysis and execution, as well as a keen understanding of your customer to achieve and maintain success.
A prime example of great promotion is Apple.
The iPad was announced by CEO Steve Jobs on January 27, 2010 at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco.
It was met with great anticipation and skepticism.
No one is skeptical now.
Remember, Apple had already had tremendous success with the iPhone. The iPad, in a sense, was an evolution of that product – offering the iPhone interface on a much larger screen.
People loved it!
They had identified a gap in the market. The space between the convenience of a phone and the functionality of a laptop.
But we’re ahead of ourselves. Both the iPhone and the subsequent iPad were preceded by the MAC.
Remember the MAC?
The MAC had a loyal but rather small following. The PC was the king of the mountain. So what did Apple do?
Like the biblical David they challenged Goliath Mano a Mano – head to head. And their promotion was nothing less than brilliant.
You remember this campaign?
Apple understood that, for many, computers were scary, complicated machines, that were hard to understand never mind navigate.
So Apple, understanding their target customer, launched a creative, ground-breaking marketing campaign.
They personified the technology – giving their target audience a visual representation that was simple to grasp.
Rather than explain the differences in technical terms, they created characters that represented how much easier a MAC was than a PC – that they were not only much more “user-friendly” but “cool”.
It was brilliant!
Is there a weakness in your competitors that you can exploit?
As you formulate your marketing campaign, be aware of shifting tides. What works today may not be as effective tomorrow.
Don’t be afraid to abandon something that is not or no longer working.
We all hate change but accept it. It is truly the only constant.
Well, there is that “death and taxes” thing…
But I digress – you get it!
Look at your marketing as a live, breathing creation. Feed it the right nutrients. Provide it with the love and attention, and it will serve your target audience in the most effective way possible.
How To Create A Successful Marketing Plan
Positioning
You might think of positioning as your brand or reputation in the market.
What does your target audience think of you?
Are you always “hard” selling? Does your product/services meet or exceed their expectations?
In short…
Do you provide value?
What does your audience think of you when they see your post or open your email?
Does everything you post or send feel transactional?
In his book “Jab, Jab, Jab Right Hook“, Gary Vaynerchuk talks about the concept of providing value verses asking for a sale.
The jab is the value that you lead with over and over until you earn the right to throw the right hook. To “ask” for the sale – or email, endorsement, etc.
Simply put, are you providing value or merely trying to hawk your wares?
Give often without expectation or the intent to sell.
Doing so will put you in a very favorable light with you prospects. And once they trust you, when you finally ask they will be far more open to your offers.
How To Create A Successful Marketing Plan
People
Finally, there are the people.
Your team.
Now if you’re just starting your business whether you’re an affiliate marketer or not, you may be going it alone.
Nevertheless, eventually you’ll, more than likely, build a team.
Content creation, social media and other forms of marketing, web design, are all considerations.
Having the right team will help you, not only survive, but thrive in the marketplace.
The way in which “you serve them” can make all the difference in realizing your mission and establishing your brand.
Your ability to access talent and choose the right personnel is the lifeblood of your business.
So choose wisely!
Furthermore, know this… it is far more important to KEEP talent than it is to hire new people.
Most importantly understand that you set the tone. If you value, serve and respect your people they in turn will do the same for you, each other and your customers.
In Conclusion
Using The Power of P can help you create a marketing plan to start, grow and sustain your business.
This isn’t checkers, this is chess.
Growth is rarely as fast as we’d like it to be and is seldom linear.
There will be ups and downs but if you’re committed, patient and execute the right plan – success is within your grasp.
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