While the first edition of How to Find the Law of Marketing was written to provide readers with a complete understanding of how to perform legal research online, the second edition is meant to assist those who actually need to perform legal research. Additionally, this new edition includes updated legislation, cases, and commentary that further enhance its value.

This guide will walk you through the steps of finding the legal information you need to create a marketing plan for your business. We’ll cover each step of the way, including where to find the answers, how long it will take to get them, and what you’ll need to do to ensure the information is accurate.

Step One: Define Your Goals And Objectives For The Next 6-12 Months

The first step in creating a marketing plan is to define your goals and objectives for the next six to twelve months. You’ll use these goals and objectives to map out how you plan to accomplish the objectives of your business. This step will also help you determine the metrics you’ll use to measure your success in executing the plan.

Step Two: Set Achieving These Goals And Objectives In Motion

The next step is to set achieving these goals and objectives in motion. As you defined your goals and objectives in the first step, you’ll want to make sure you put in place the key strategies to accomplish them. This step will also involve creating timelines for each of your goals so you can measure your progress throughout the year. 

Step Three: Identify Key Resources

The third step in creating a marketing plan is to identify key resources. Just because you’ve defined your goals and objectives in step one doesn’t mean you’ll be able to immediately start executing your plan. To ensure you have the key resources you need to grow your business, you’ll need to identify the people, places, and things that can help you reach your goals. This step will involve reviewing your industry, identifying the key players, and understanding what they’re doing and who they’re doing it for. You’ll also want to set up a list of the key resources you need in your industry.

Step Four: Gather As Much Information As Possible

The fourth step in creating a marketing plan is to gather as much information as possible. The more you know, the easier it will be to plan your strategy, and the better your chance of succeeding. Information can come from a variety of sources, including trade publications, white papers, legal publications, and online research. It’s important to not just look at one type of information in this step, as you may discover something that will help you formulate a better strategy. You can also find a variety of case studies, statistics, and other information that may be helpful to your business.

Step Five: Create A Draft Plan

The fifth step in creating a marketing plan is to create a draft plan. Regardless of what strategy you came up with in the previous step, this is the time to put it into writing. You’ll use this plan to create a solid foundation for your marketing efforts. This step will also involve determining how you’ll carry out the plan. For instance, if you decided to focus on digital marketing, you’ll need to set up a digital marketing strategy and plan. The draft plan should include every aspect of your plan, from the objectives you set in the first step to the key resources you identified in the third step. The more you put into the plan the better, as it will make it much easier to track your progress and ensure you stay on course. You can also add additional pages to the plan as needed.

Step Six: Review Your Plan

The sixth step in creating a marketing plan is to review your plan. Just because you created a plan in the previous step does not mean it’s perfect. As you work your plan through each step, you’ll want to re-evaluate it and determine whether it meets your needs. Some of the things you’ll want to check are:

• Are the objectives and goals accurately defined?
• Is the plan achievable?
• Have sufficient resources been allocated to reach the goals?
• Are the right people involved in the process?
• Has sufficient time been allocated for the plan to be successfully implemented?
• Are there any known pitfalls or barriers that could potentially derail the plan?
• Are the necessary legal documents in place to prove the plan is legitimate?
• Are the right metrics being used to measure its success?

If you answered “yes” to all of these questions, then you’ll be able to move on to the next step.

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, it may be time to make some adjustments to your plan before you move forward. Depending on the nature of the criticisms, you may need to put in additional work to ensure everything is accurately reflected in the plan.

Step Seven: Revise And Integrate It

The seventh step in creating a marketing plan is to revise and integrate it. Once you’ve made the necessary adjustments to your plan and are ready to put it into action, you’ll need to integrate it into your overall marketing strategy. This step will be somewhat different than the previous six steps, as it will involve working with your staff and integrating the plan into daily operations. Additionally, you’ll want to monitor and review your strategy, as well as the plan itself, on an ongoing basis. This step will be invaluable in helping you determine the overall effectiveness of your marketing plan and help you make necessary adjustments as needed.

Step Eight: Evaluate The Result

The final step in creating a marketing plan is to evaluate the result. After you’ve implemented your plan and measured its success, you’ll want to take a step back and evaluate the results. Were you able to reach your goals? Did you stay true to the plan and achieve the results you were looking for? If you’re not sure what the results of your plan were, it may be a good idea to review the previous step and determine whether or not you achieved the desired results. Additionally, you’ll want to look at the metrics you used to measure your success and determine whether or not those metrics were appropriate. If you’re not sure what metrics to use, it may be a good idea to sit down with your CFO and ask for their advice. They may be able to suggest some alternatives that could prove more useful in determining the effectiveness of your plan than the ones you initially used.

If you answered “yes” to all of these questions, then you can consider yourself to have successfully completed the creation of your marketing plan. From here, you can either continue to develop the plan or put it into action.