While there are plenty of different marketing plans available, most companies will only need to write up a short proposal to secure funding for a digital marketing campaign. If you’re looking to create an example marketing plan to assist with the selling process, then this article is for you.
Key Details To Include
As mentioned, most companies will only need to write up a short proposal to secure online marketing funds. For the sake of this article, we will assume that you are a small business looking to secure £20,000 to £30,000 to fund marketing activities. The proposal should therefore be concise, easy to understand, and include everything pertinent to your campaign.
As a small business owner, you will be well aware of the restrictions that come with limited funds. Your marketing budget may be limited by the amount of money that you have to spend; a £70 purchase could be considered costly if you’re only spending £5 a day on average. For this reason, it is essential that you create a marketing plan that is as efficient as possible.
The Pros And Cons Of An Offline Marketing Plan
An offline marketing plan is essentially a marketing plan that is carried out in physical retail. Be that as it may, physical marketing is not dead, especially with the advancement of online and print marketing channels. Your marketing activities may involve collecting customer data and carrying out in-store marketing experiments. These activities would form the basis of an offline marketing plan.
The major advantage of an offline marketing plan is that it allows you to test ideas and approaches as you move through the selling process. Should a marketing activity prove unsuccessful, you can immediately revert back to what you knew before and try something new. This is not always the case when it comes to digital marketing strategies, as you will often find that the data is not as easily accessible as you might hope, especially if you are running a small business.
The downside of an offline marketing plan is that customers have to come to you. Unless you’re located in a major city, consumers may be less inclined to come into your store and certainly less inclined to make a purchase simply because it is a convenient option for them. The further you push into offline marketing, the more you will struggle to track the effectiveness of your campaigns. You will also be reliant on shop visits for measurements, so any slip-ups on the part of your customers will result in missed sales.
Why An Online Marketing Plan Is So Popular
If you’re looking to secure funding for a marketing campaign, whether digital or otherwise, you will undoubtedly be aware of the popularity of online marketing plans. This is mainly due to the fact that so much marketing data can be tracked and measured online. As a small business owner, you’re probably already making use of Google Analytics and similar platforms to track the success of your websites and social media channels. Should you decide to pursue an online marketing plan, all of this data can be easily accessed and used to formulate a marketing strategy.
An additional advantage of an online marketing plan is that you can perform almost all of the tasks involved from anywhere. For those that might be a little laborious, such as coming up with ideas for campaigns or designing mock-ups, they can be done from home or anywhere with decent WiFi connection. Should you be fortunate enough to have an in-house design team, you can rest assured that they will be able to work remotely as well. This convenience can prove invaluable should you decide to run a marketing campaign during particularly busy times of the year or if you’re looking to secure some extra funds for unexpected expenses.
Marketing Plan Template
In addition to covering all the important details concerning your marketing strategy, you will need to furnish the proposal with a template. This is a standard practice when pitching a business proposal to an investor. It provides them with a framework for the creative and innovative suggestions that you might make during the course of the conversation. The template should not be overly complicated and should be easy to understand. In case you’re looking for a ready-made marketing plan template, then you can find a business plan template here (https://myplanningtool.com/tools/business-plan-template).
If you decide to go the DIY route, it’s a good idea to create a marketing plan as a word document and then simply cut and paste the contents of the document into the body of your proposal. The more you can do to keep it simple, the better. This will make the process of crafting the proposal much easier and you will definitely find yourself writing less (if any) drafts. If you are looking for assistance with the proposal process, then feel free to contact an investment professional or a business advisor. They might be able to help you navigate the process and get you the funds you need to grow your business.