Marketing Plan Myths Revealed

Just do a search for the term marketing plan and you are likely to be faced with approximately 9 million page results. Not only that, but if you go into some of the results you will find differing terms and differing opinions on how to develop the best one for your small business. It can all be a little confusing and could be one of the reasons why you do not have a marketing plan for your small business.

Before we look at the myths, it should be noted that just having a marketing plan will not guarantee success. It is the quality of the plan and importantly the implementation and tracking of the plan that will show you whether you are achieving your goals.

Myth 1 - Only Big Business Need a Marketing Plan
Remember successful big businesses today started as a small business. They know one of the secrets to success is to work on your business and set goals and decide on the key marketing strategies and tactics each year so time and money is not wasted.

Myth 2 - A Marketing Plan Can be Developed in a Few Minutes
Wow, could we be so lucky. If you have never developed a marketing plan, then it will take you a little time to actually think through the key issues facing your small business and to work out what is the best plan of action to take. The good news is like everything else in life with more practice it gets easier and takes less time to update each year.

Myth 3 - You Need a Different Marketing Plan for Online and Offline
This is false because although the tactics or even the marketing strategies may be different, you will still only need to develop and implement one marketing plan for your business.

Myth 4 - You Only Need to Develop a Marketing Plan if You Have a Lot of Money to Spend
Having developed and implemented literally hundreds of marketing plans, I can tell you some of the best plans I have developed and implemented only had a tiny budget. A marketing plan helps you decide where you are going to spend your money and time to maximize your results.

Myth 5 - You Know all About Your Customers so You do not Need a Marketing Plan
Unfortunately this is one of the biggest myths. Customers can change the way they think, feel and behave towards your small business without you even being aware of the changes. It could be because there is a new competitor actively targeting your customers, or because of what is happening in the economy etc. Developing a marketing plan each year allows you to look at what worked during the year and what actions can be taken in the next year to ensure your key customers stay loyal.

There are many more myths about marketing plans, but in reality these myths are just misunderstandings. As growing a small business successfully is a journey, a marketing plan just helps to make sure that each important goal during the journey is achieved more easily.

Marketing for Business Success Pty Ltd 2008

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