74 Planning Your Strategy

What Is A Strategy?

Your strategy is a description of exactly how you plan to achieve each goal you have set. It is your route map to the end result you have committed to. Your strategy is how you are going to make it happen.

Why Is Having One Important?

Setting time aside to create a strategy will ensure that you think about and plan your way forward. If you do not do this all you will have is a set of goals and no methodology.

Your Challenge

Allowing yourself time to work on your business as opposed to in it is your challenge. There will always be something urgent and important to do. Strategy planning is a non-urgent but vitally important task that you must allocate the time to do. You will need to stop doing, start thinking and planning.

How To Create A Strategy

You will need a strategy for each of your marketing goals.

Your Strategy – Special Response Checklist

The following questions will help you to plan your own strategy.

• How are you going to progress each element of your plan?
• What is the critical path for each of the goals you have set?
• What are the milestones and deadlines?
• What are the steps?
• What needs setting up?
• What are the priorities?
• What specific practical actions need to betaken to make it happen?
• By whom and by when?
• How will you monitor, evaluate and review your strategy?

How To Use This Information

Take time out to plan your marketing strategy. Involve your team in its creation. Remember, people support that which they help to create.

75 Writing The Marketing Plan

To complete your marketing plan you will need to refer to any notes you may have made as you worked through the individual sections of this book.*

Why Is It Important To Have A Written Plan?

This is your opportunity to bring together all the thoughts and ideas you have had about your business marketing. Writing this plan will force you to clarify and articulate these thoughts. Your plan will tell a story about your business and be evidence of all the careful thought you have put into it. You will be able to use this plan to stay focused and on track. Writing a plan creates something tangible that you have committed to. It will be your success blueprint.

Your Plan Template

The important headings for your marketing plan can be found on page 8 of this book.

How To Use This Information

Take this template and write each section for your business. The relevant chapters in this book will explain exactly what you need to consider. When it is completed it will need to be reviewed and fine tuned. This is not a plan that is cast in stone, it will need to be fluid – moving and adapting to the way your business and your market grows and develops. Your marketing plan gives you the structure, and your strategy, once implemented, gives you the feedback.