I read an article last week outlining five reasons for small businesses to devolve their marketing strategy to a marketing professional.

 

It was one of those, not very subtle, American sales articles that started

 

 “You wouldn't attempt to fill your own cavity, and you wouldn't try to conduct your own home inspection before purchasing a house--you'd likely hire trained professionals to take on these tasks. Yet many small-business owners take it upon themselves to try to manage their marketing efforts”.

 

Whilst there is something to be said for the authors five key reasons (experience, skill set, competencies, external perspective and strategic experience), the flip side of the coin is that no-one knows your business like you do.

 

It’s true that you might need some pointers on how to devise a marketing strategy, and we can all benefit from someone sharing their objectivity and experience with us to help us to generate new ideas.

 

However, when it comes down to it I passionately believe that every small business owner, with the right direction and guidance, is more than competent enough to implement their own marketing strategy.

 

Yes, the world of marketing can be a bit of a minefield, and it’s important to beware of the many con – artists and charlatans out there who make you offers that are just too good to be true.

 

But your business is your baby. You’ve conceived it, created it, nurtured it. If anyone is going to help it to grow and blossom, it’s going to be you.

 

So by all means, seek support and guidance to get you on the right path, but you should always make the time to ensure that you stay involved and that you remain in control.

 

Firms that are successful in marketing obviously start with a marketing strategy. A plan that details their objectives, the timeframes, and most importantly sets out how those objectives will be achieved.

 

Major corporations have plans that span hundreds, even thousands of pages. A small business can start with twenty pages, sometimes even less depending on your target market and your objectives.

 

The key to a marketing strategy is to have a robust and achievable approach to start with. It has to be broken into clearly defined “chunks” and you must have a mechanism in place to review it on a regular basis. If you don’t do this you will never be able to follow the plan through.

 

Whilst a major corporation may plan as much as ten years in advance for a new or small business the plan should cover no more than twenty six months. This is simply because the very nature of a new business is fluid – things change, your markets evolve, and your core objectives might well shift. 

 

So break your plan into two sections, months one to twelve and months thirteen to twenty six.

 

A good marketing plan can easily take between four and eight weeks to complete – even if it’s only ten pages worth. 

 

The design and development of the plan is where all the work and much of the research is carried out. This is the hard graft section, and if you are new to it, then this might be the area that you do want some support and guidance on.

 

However, once you have built the plan, the implementation and monitoring of it is actually much less challenging than you might think.

 

So what should be included in a good marketing plan?

 

Whilst the content will vary depending on your objectives and your marketplace at the very least you should consider:

 

• Your marketplace – today and tomorrow
• Your competition
• Promotion / Advertising
• Service Delivery
• Strategy
• Positioning

 

 

Plans will always be imperfect vehicles. None of us knows with any degree of certainty what the next twelve or twenty six months will bring.  I’ve spoken to many clients who have said “surely my time would be much better spent hands – on, generating business, getting my hands dirty?”  This might well help you to get through today.

 

But to get through tomorrow,

 

and next month,

 

and next year

 

you have to plan.

 

If you don’t plan, the chances are your business won’t see next year. 

 

There are surprisingly few businesses that fail because their idea or product is weak, most fail because they did not plan, because they lacked experience, or because they did not seek help quickly enough. 

 

So if you do not plan, the odds are that you will fail.

 

An imperfect plan is much better than having no plan at all, but in my opinion, having a plan for which you completely devolve responsibility is only marginally  better than having no plan at all.

 

So by all means seek guidance and learn from the experience of others to make sure that your plan is robust, work with someone who can help. Marketing though is something that no small business should ever devolve, you should always remain involved and in control.