A calendar is an important part of a marketing plan implementation.
A marketing plan lays out strategies to boost sales and increase brand awareness; the challenge comes in implementing each strategy. Because marketing efforts are limited by schedule, available staff and financial constraints, careful implementation can ensure that you have the resources and time to execute the full plan. As you design ways to carry out each marketing effort, consider how you can use them at the right time to achieve your business and growth goals.
Instructions
1. Prioritize your marketing strategies into a list, ranking them in order of importance. In the process, consider how each strategy supports your company's overall strategic goals. In doing so, you'll decrease the likelihood that big efforts will get overlooked in favor of smaller, less labor-intensive strategies. Use the list as a framework for your marketing plan.
2. Research practical limitations for each marketing strategy that will help or hinder you along the way. For print publications, you may need to consider the lead time and the required file types for advertisements. For websites, you should know the number of times your information will appear, the time it will take to write and publish blog posts, and the effort needed to set up social networking profiles. If you are printing materials, you will need to know the printer's average turn-around time and expected delivery dates.
3. Develop a marketing calendar for the year. Start with your most important strategies and put them on the calendar, considering the requirements of each outlet and the time needed to develop the campaigns. Assign each strategy to a time when customers will be most receptive to the message and media. Keep your marketing budget information handy and subtract the cost of each campaign as you add it to the calendar to avoid overshooting available funds. You may need to scale-down proposed marketing strategies, insert less expensive versions around the larger projects, or move some to the next year's plan.
4. Design the necessary materials and write marketing copy. Gather the information and assets needed for each campaign: photos, edited text, website pages, email blaster templates or print designs, for example. Develop materials with an eye to the needs of your target audience.
5. Identify places to distribute your marketing materials based on the information about your target audience that you outlined in your marketing plan. Find publications, websites or physical locations for your marketing strategy. If you planned a poster campaign, gather information about places that will allow you to post. Assign a specific staff member to handle the execution and distribution of each marketing strategy.
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