Back in November we discussed the importance of research and planning in developing your strategic marketing plan. Now that the plan is approved, the real work begins—implementing your marketing campaigns for 2011. Here are some tips to help your roll-out go smoothly:
- To start, dig out the detailed list of action items and resource/team assignments you developed during the planning stage. This should become your working plan. The plan should be kept up-to-date and revised during the year as you determine what works well and what doesn’t.
- If you haven’t already done it, pull the teams together to discuss the overall plan. Even if the teams operate independently, it is crucial that they know the overall plan and can watch for overlap, issues and feedback that may impact everyone. No one can successfully market in a vacuum.
- Watch lead times so delays will not impact your plan. This is especially true if you have to coordinate with a third party on video production, website changes, etc. You really don’t want to explain to your boss that you missed the deadline because you failed to plan ahead.
- Look for ways to streamline efforts. This may involve reusing content (or pieces of content) in several forms, i.e., an educational article might be posted as a download on the company website, on a relevant blog, and interesting facts or tidbits might be great for Facebook or Twitter posts—with a link back to the website article. Always look for tools to automate your processes.
- Make sure your online reputation management plan is in place and several folks have been assigned to monitor and respond, as needed. For many businesses, this means someone must watch for activity and be available to respond seven days a week.
- Measure, analyze, adjust…measure, analyze and adjust again. Don’t be afraid to change something that isn’t working.
- Communicate clearly and frequently. It never hurts to follow up a phone call with a confirmation email to verify everyone is on the same page. When changes occur, let everyone know.
- Leave time for “gotcha’s”. No matter how well you plan, there is always the possibility that things will not go as planned. Set realistic deadlines and have contingency plans.
Integrating your marketing efforts does take planning and coordination, but in the end will provide the best results. If you have questions about implementing your marketing plan, feel free to contact Jeanne Frazer at jeanne@vitalinkweb.com or call her at 919.850.0605.
