Beyond the Basics: Advanced Marketing Planning

Advanced Marketing
Planning
Melissa Eckert, Marketing
Communications Manager

Your Marketing Plan
• Need not be complicated
• Need not be perfect
• BUT…

• You need one if you want to
o drive higher response
o spend smartly
o focus your time and effort

• The plan should be seasonal but
there is no one single “planning
season”.

Company Confidential Vistaprint © 2011

Plan for the Customer Lifecycle

Acquire

Reactivate Convert

Retain Grow


Arabella Salon & Day Spa,
South Portland, ME

Scott Associates, CPA, Portland, ME


Five Steps to a Marketing Plan
1. Assess the Market
2. Assess your Customers
3. Set Goals
4. Select Tactics
5. Track Performance


1. Assess the market
Know what is happening in the market to take advantage of
opportunities and avoid pitfalls.

• Economic, demographic and political trends

• Behavioral and technological trends

• Competitor tactics and results


Sample Market Assessment
Market trend What it means for business

Troubled economy has Need to reinforce that clients will save more
people cutting out non- money by using a professional
essential expenses

More people filing taxes Need to make sure we have an online presence
online

Competitors getting a larger Need to determine whether our customers are
share of the planning likely to pay us for those services, too.
business


Sample Market Assessment
Market trend What it means for business

More women in the area are Need to make sure hours and services match the
working outside the home needs of working women

People don’t have a lot of Need to keep prices reasonable and within
extra money to spend on expectations
beauty

Market in the area is Need to determine what sets us apart from the
saturated two other salons on the street


2. Assess your customers
You cannot effectively and efficiently retain customers
without knowing something about them.

• Which are most valuable?

• What benefits do they care about?

• Turn customer data into customer insight


Customer Data
• Age Demographic
Data
• Gender Transactional
Data

• Location
• # of years as a customer Behavioral
Data
• What they purchase
• $$ spent per
transaction, month, year
• How they found you
• Etc. Customer Insight


Customer Insight
• Most customers only use our services once a year,
during tax season. However, they do come back year
after year so they appear satisfied.

• The majority of customers found us through word of
mouth. Another indication that our customers are happy
with our services.

• 65% of customers are over the age of 50. Many of those
same customers are in a high income bracket but are not
using Scott for retirement or estate planning services.


Customer Insight
• Customers using spa services are more likely than those
using salon services to only visit once and never come
back. They may be dissatisfied or consider spa services
“special events”.

• Most salon customers only come twice a year, indicating
that they are likely visiting other salons, too.

• 75% of visitors come on the weekends. Our customers
may be more likely to work during the day and have
family commitments at night.


3. Set Goals
Without goals to guide you, you cannot know where and
when to spend your marketing dollars.

• Should be focused and tied to financial metrics

• Must be for a specific period of time

• Will inform all choices from here on


Three goals, three outcomes
Increase revenue per Improve customer Increase customer
customer retention referrals


Focus on one goal at a time
Increase revenue per Improve customer
customer retention
There are other goals
either company could
identify.

Focusing on one at a
time conserves
High customer Highly competitive, high- resources and puts
satisfaction margin market your effort where you
think it will be most
Competitors getting Customers are visiting effective.
additional business other salons


4. Select tactics
It is not always the least expensive form of marketing that
will be most cost effective. Tactics should be based on
market and customer insight.

• Assess purpose

• Arrange by customer type

• Assign to calendar


Tactical choices: Acquisition
Objective Appropriate Media/Tactics
Increase awareness of product/service Banner advertising
In-person events
Search marketing
Website
Email
Consider your company an expert Industry publications
Public relations
In-person events
Company blog
Learn more about your product/service Direct mail
Email
Company blog
Facebook
Website
Trigger purchase through an offer Direct mail + offer
Email + offer
Banner ad + offer
Website + offer


Tactical choices: Retain and Grow
Objective Appropriate Media/Tactics
Cross-sell and up-sell current customers In store
In-person events
Direct mail
Email

Increase customer satisfaction and usage Direct mail
Email
Company blog
Facebook
Newsletters
Create customer dialogue and community Company blog
Facebook
Twitter
Message boards

Allow customers to provide feedback Company blog
Website surveys
Facebook


Sample Tactical Plan
Goal Strategy Tactic To-Do

Monthly newsletter Develop list of potential monthly themes

Encourage use Review last year’s emails for anything to
of our services leverage
throughout the Reminder emails at Create list of events
year important tax events
Increase Set reminders to be emailed one month
Revenue prior to each event
per Direct mail prior to tax Review customer list to find high-value
Customer season to high- clients not yet using planning services
potential clients
Order postcards
Cross-sell
planning
services In-store rack cards Visit competitor sites to see how they are
explaining services explaining services
Ask existing planning customers what made
them choose Scott

Format from The Marketing Plan Handbook, by Robert W. Bly


Sample Tactical Plan
Goal Strategy Tactic To-Do

Welcome email to set Write list of FAQs about the first visit
expectations for all new
clients Add email field to scheduling software
Improve
Customer
Satisfaction Survey customers for Write survey
possible improvements
Set up survey and add link to emails
Increase
Customer Loyalty card with Develop list of discounts
Retention discounts on services
Order loyalty cards
Reward loyal
customers “Member Mornings” for Ask current customers if that would interest
no-wait spa service them
Calculate how often new customers ask for
morning service to asses risk

Format from The Marketing Plan Handbook, by Robert W. Bly


5. Track Performance
You want to know when you are on track…and when you
need to change course.

• Start slow – qualitative data is still valuable

• Then ramp up – quantitative data will help you see
trends across groups of customers

• Always match back to goals


Track performance
Goal Metrics to track

Revenue/customer
Increase revenue per customer
# of services used/customer
# of customers using planning

Satisfaction rating
Increase customer retention
Repeat rate


In review
1. Assess the market and your customers.
2. Turn data into insight.
3. Use insight to inform your goals.
4. Select tactics that are appropriate for your customers
and your goals.
5. Put the tactics on a calendar and follow the plan!
6. Track performance to see what you are doing well and
what you can improve.


Appendix


Sources of Market Data and Trends
• U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov)
• Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov)
• Google Trends (www.google.com/trends)
• Trendwatching (www.trendwatching.com)


Recommended Reading
• The Marketing Plan Handbook, by Robert W. Bly


Beyond the Basics: Advanced Marketing Planning

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