The post marketing plan is a blueprint for your brand’s (or business’) next steps after your initial marketing efforts have driven initial growth and momentum. It sets the destination and it guides the journey – from the creation of the plan, through to its execution and review.

While the post marketing plan won’t appear in a vacuum, it does need to be developed in tandem with your other marketing and business planning materials – most notably your marketing and sales plans. Thinking of your post-marketing plan as a kind of ‘to do’ list’ for your marketing activity is a useful place to start.

The Growth Mindset

The post marketing plan is established from the outset with the knowledge that growth will be your business’ primary focus. This mindset affects every aspect of the plan, from the products you choose to promote, to the methods and measurements you’ll apply to determine the success of those promotions. You want to choose products that you know will be a success, and ensure that those products are marketed and promoted effectively.

This also influences the kinds of metrics you’ll use to judge the plan’s success – with growth hackers focusing on key performance indicators such as leads, conversions and average order values to prove the efficacy of their campaigns. Your post marketing plan needs to be consistent with this mindset: if you want to grow your business, you’ll need to plan your strategy with the same consideration as you’d give a new product you were just testing for market fit.

The Action Plan

The post marketing plan is made up of a series of tasks, actions and responsibilities that will, when executed with the right planning and strategy, drive the success of your plan. This part of the plan should be broken down into short-term and long-term assignments that, when carried out, will move you towards your goal – the development and execution of a post-marketing strategy that will drive your growth.

The tasks in your plan should dovetail with each other, and should be measurable and verifiable. This part of the plan will form the blueprint for your marketing activities over the next six to twelve months, so it’s essential that it is well thought out and detailed. Your action plan needs to be continually revised and evaluated against the goals and objectives you set at the start of the process. You are establishing a benchmark for your work, and the more you can do to make the plan a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to get you there, the more you’ll stand out in the mind of your readers.

The Review

Your post marketing plan should be followed by a review stage, which will examine your progress towards the established goals and objectives, and determine if you’ve met the criteria you established in the beginning – most notably whether you’ve reached critical mass, or whether further action is required.

This review will examine your plan in light of what you’ve done, and identify any areas where you’ve fallen short of the benchmark you established at the start of the process. You’ll use this review to establish a new set of goals and objectives, for the following phase of the plan – either repeating the entire process, or setting off in a new direction. Whatever your business model, you’ll want to evolve your plan over time, as your marketing efforts and strategies change.

Takeaway

The post marketing plan is, at its core, a living, breathing document that will inform your marketing activities over the coming months and years – from the products you choose to promote, to the kinds of traffic you attract, to the measures you’ll use to evaluate the success of those campaigns. It can change and grow with your business, as the industries you serve and the marketing goals you set evolve and change with it.

Developing a post marketing plan doesn’t have to be a lengthy and drawn-out affair – it can, as I’ve demonstrated, be an iterative and flexible process that will evolve and change over time, in tandem with your marketing and business strategies. Having a plan that you can constantly review, and evolve as your business evolves, will bring you and your team closer to the goals you set at the outset – and will give you a clear picture of what you’ve accomplished so far, and what remains to be done.