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Hello {!firstname_fix}
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Dear Joe,

I feel like I'm very unfocused in my marketing efforts. I try lots of different things in an attempt to grow my business but I just seem to be running around in circles.

I'm sure I need some sort of marketing plan to help me organize my efforts, but I don't have a clue how to create one. The books I've read about marketing plans are way too complicated.

Do you have any 'simple' advice for creating a marketing plan that could actually help me grow my business?

Melissa, Baton Rouge, LA
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Dear Melissa,

We couldn't agree with you more. Most of the books and articles that we see on marketing plans are filled with marketing jargon and lots of useless information that, more often than not, sends you down the wrong road.

It almost seems that many marketing writers are writing to impress you with the depth of their knowledge. This approach results in confusing people rather than helping them.

As always we are committed to 'simplifying' the process of marketing so that it is easy to understand and apply.

Marketing doesn't have to be complicated, and creating a marketing plan for your business doesn't have to be a frustrating process.

Do You Need a Marketing Plan?

First, let's start out by answering the basic question, 'Do you need a marketing plan?'

Yes, you do. No matter how small your business is, or how new or old it is, you need a plan of action. How will you know what you are trying to accomplish or how you will accomplish it without a plan? How will you know if you are progressing?

You wouldn't start building a house without a plan, and you can't build a business without one either.

Your marketing plan isn't going to be set in stone. Your marketing plan will change as you grow and as you test various elements. So don't worry if your decisions aren't perfect at this point, they can always be refined and adjusted later.

Let me say right now, you don't have to create a fancy marketing plan. The format isn't important. It's your marketing decisions that are important.

You can create your marketing plan on a napkin if you want to, but we'd suggest you use a plain piece of paper.

On that piece of paper write the following six questions -- leave some space between each one for your answers:

1. What's My Goal?

2. Who Do I Want to Help?

3. How Do I Want to Help Them?

4. What Will I Offer Them?

5. How Will I Reach Them?

6. How Will I Know If It's Working?

1. What's My Goal?

As with any plan you must start with the end in mind. What do you want to accomplish with your marketing? What is your goal?

You can't accomplish anything productive without a clear goal in mind. If you hope to get anywhere worth going to you need to choose a specific destination.

Imagine a race without a planned path and without a clear finish line. Everyone would just run in different directions until they finally collapsed from exhaustion. Lots of activity with no clear purpose.

Many business owners participate in this type of activity every day -- all because they haven't thought about what they are trying to accomplish.

Your goals should be related to your desired sales.

They should also be progressive goals. Determine the sales you would like to generate this year, next year and the year after that. Each year should be progressively bigger.

Break down your annual goals into monthly goals, and then weekly goals. Now you will have small goals which will lead to your larger goals.

Your goals should be attainable, not unreasonable, but offer you the opportunity to stretch.

Don't put unreasonable pressure on yourself. If you don't reach your goal, it's not going to be the end of the world. It's all about continuous improvement, not perfection.

Just readjust your goals and move on.



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We'll continue Part 2 in our next issue.

If you have any comments you'd like to share about this article, just hit reply and send me an email.

Until next time, we wish you the very best marketing success.

Joe Gracia
Give to Get Marketing
http://www.givetogetmarketing.com





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About the Author:
Copyright 2000-2008 Joe Gracia. All rights reserved.
Joe Gracia is small business marketing expert with over 30-years of hands-on experience. You can get hundreds of marketing tips at his www.givetogetmarketing.com web site, or sign up for this Give to Get PowerTips Newsletter at www.givetogetmarketing.com/free-ezine.html
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