This document provides guidance on setting marketing goals and creating a marketing plan for 2016. It recommends assessing performance from last year, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The planning process involves setting objectives, strategies and tactics. Key elements to include in the plan are initiatives, pricing, sales, markets, customers, and promotion activities. The plan should have SMART goals and be implemented through promotion as a sales funnel.

1. Setting Our Sights For Success in 2016
Joe Hines
714-872-0561

2. Assessing the Situation

3. Situational Questions
Which of my marketing and selling activities
brought the most business for me last year?
What mistakes did I make that I should avoid
this year?
What worked well, but I can improve on this
year?
What can I learn from my successful campaigns last year?
How have my competitors changed in the last year?

4. Top Line Performance
• Annual Sales
• Sales per month/ quarter/ year
• Profitability per month/ quarter/ year
Performance By Account
• Number of Customers or Clients
• Sales per Client – This Year Vs. Last year
• Profit per Client
Performance By Product or Service
• Sales per Product or Service
• Profit per Product or Service
Performance Related Questions

5. Website Performance
• Unique site visitors
• Monthly unique visitor growth rate
• Total email subscribers
• Monthly email subscriber growth rate
• Unique visitor to email subscriber conversion rate

6. Active Users

7. New Vs Returning

8. Pages

9. Why Commit to Planning?
• Provides a plan for selling new services and products.
• Establishes priorities.
• Makes sure that all marketing efforts remain
on track.
• You can't manage what you can't measure.

10. The Planning Process
Marketing Objectives Marketing Strategies Marketing Tactics

11. How To Generate Strategy
• S.W.O.T. Analysis
• Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities Threats
Internal/
Company Specific
External/ In Your
Business Environment
People
Products
Unique Processes
Trademarks
Financial Condition
Brand Equity
Customer Relationships
Etc.
New Technologies
Market Conditions
New Customers
New Legislation
Competitive Market Exit
Economic Changes
Demographic Changes
Etc.
Financial Situation
Market Awareness
Functional Areas
Market Reputation
Knowledge Base
Cost Structure
Sales Approach
Etc.
Competitive Advances
Customer Changes
Changes in Demographics
Changes in Customer Preferences
Access to Key Commodities
Changes in Legislation
Etc.

12. How To Generate Strategy
Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities Threats
Internal/
Company Specific
External/ In Your
Business Environment
Leverage Your Strengths
To
Capitalize on Opportunities
Select Specific Opportunities
To
Drive Growth
Given
Core Strengths
Invest in personal and business
Improvements
To
Defend yourself from
competitive attack.
Be constantly on guard.
Competitive research
Customers
Network
Media
Offense Defense

13. Threats/ Opportunities: Questions to Answer
What are the important trends in the marketplace?
What are the significant competitive trends?
How do your current products compare to the competition?
How do your current products compare vs what your customers need?
How are your customers changing over time? If you project out several
years, will they still need what you have today or are they changing faster
than you are?

14. Consumer Changes

15. Manufacturer Responses

16. A Marketing Plan
• Objective 1
• Strategy 1
• Tactic 1
• Tactic 2
• Tactic 3
• Strategy 2
• Tactic 1
• Tactic 2
• Tactic 3
• Objective 2
• Strategy 1
• Tactic 1
• Tactic 2
• Tactic 3
• Strategy 2
• Tactic 1
• Tactic 2
• Tactic 3
• Objective 3
• Strategy 1
• Tactic 1
• Tactic 2
• Tactic 3
• Strategy 2
• Tactic 1
• Tactic 2
• Tactic 3

17. What To Include In Your Plan?
• Major initiatives regarding:
• Changes to your product and/ or service offering
• Changes to your pricing strategy
• Sales Strategy
• New markets you want to enter
• Markets you want to exit
• Customer plans
• New customers you want to sell
• Existing customers you want to grow with

18. What To Include In Your Plan?
• Promotion Activity
• Mission
• Vision
• Values
• Blogging
• Newsletters
• Social Media
• Video
• Do you have a branding strategy? Do your customers understand it?
• Networking
• Content Marketing

19. Goal Setting
S.M.A.R.T. Goals
• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time Bound
• Start Putting Your Plans on the Calendar
• Plan Backwards
• Share the Plan
• Go Forth and Tweak

20. Promotion As Sales Funnel
Blog
Social Media
Newsletter
Website Networking
Chambers
Professional Networks
Meet-Up
Volunteer
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
thrivebusinessdirectory.com
Thrive Monthly Newsletter
Guest Speaking
Leads

21. Examples
• http://www.thrivebusinessdirectory.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/A-Cubed-Marketing-Services-1388247084721749/
• https://ui.constantcontact.com/rnavmap/emcf/email/view?flow=view&camefrom=view&agent.uid=112259
1219327