January 5th, 2010
by Lorrie Thomas
A goal without a plan is just a wish.
~ Antoine de Saint Exupery
I just caught myself closing an email today with one of my common Marketing Therapy-isms….”great ideas are only great if they are executed brilliantly.”
I am a huge believer in marketing momentum (aka getting things done) and I am a proud web marketer who can ooze ideas AND also get them done (we are rare breeds when we can think AND do!)
However, as an expert in watching marketing patterns, a sadly discounted step in the marketing process is the need to plan…first!
We do not plan to fail, we fail to plan.
Stop the marketing madness – take a healthy step to recovery and re-train your brain to plan!
A goal sans plan is just a wish, however, a goal that nose dives into execution (without a clear strategic plan) likely requires Marketing Therapy.
As a professional who makes a living staging marketing interventions, fixing unhealthy marketing and getting all Dr. Phil “how’s that working for ya?” with my marketing tough love, I want to help you understand how to plan…PLEASE stop spending money on “internet marketing” or brochures and “marketing stuff” if you are not clear on your marketing plan…the WHATs mean nothing if you are not clear on the WHYs and HOWs.
Simple steps to taking your goal – plan – smart execution:
1. Write down your goals. Where are you at, where do you want to go? Think Big! You cannot proceed with planning (or hiring people to help you) if there is no guiding goal light.
2. Log your marketing asset inventory. What are your assets? Do you have a website? Email list? Great contacts? A distinct approach to your work? Raving reviews? Use what you have FIRST to where you want to go. So many professionals think they have to create *new* marketing collateral when what you have may just need a healthy foundation setting. Know what is in your marketing portfolio and use it together wisely.
3. Prioritize. Assess your situation.
Then critically assess your situation. Part of the marketing breakthrough process requires a breakdown (and that is not always fun because we have to see that we are not perfect) Ask yourself: What works? What doesn’t?
Optimize areas that need fixing, break up with marketing tools that are abusive/neglectful/unsatisfying then have plan (in a logical order) of how to proceed. If a website is horrible, then online advertising would not appear on your marketing plan list before you fix your website. (You wouldn’t pay to drive traffic to a site that sucks …would you?)
Bake Your Marketing Cake in Order.
You wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint would you? The same concept goes with marketing planning. Make your marketing matter. When you are ready to start the web marketing optimization process, we are here to support you.
Great ideas are great when they are executed with passion and purpose.
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(January 5th, 2010 at 11:53 am)
[...] Web Marketing Therapy » Blog Archive » Marketers do Not Plan to Fail, they Fail to Plan http://www.webmarketingtherapy.com/blog/web-marketing-management-tips/marketers-do-not-plan-to-fail-they-fail-to-plan – view page – cached Marketers do Not Plan to Fail, they Fail to Plan [...]
Amanda Hughes
(January 10th, 2010 at 6:07 pm)
Thanks for the awesome update – inspired by your blog I just sat down and wrote out my basic marketing plan for 2010 (and it took me less than an hour!). Thanks again for the update – it gave me the kick in the butt that I needed.
The Marketing Therapist
(January 11th, 2010 at 10:06 pm)
Hi Amanda!
I am SO IMPRESSED that you wrote your basic marketing plan for 2010! We love kicking web booty at Web Marketing Therapy!
Keep reading!
-Lorrie (The Marketing Therapist)
Fail to Plan, Plan To Fail: The Importance of Goal Setting
(February 14th, 2010 at 3:40 am)
[...] her Web sites at http://www.HealthyKidsCatalog.com and http://www.NotFault.comRelated blog postsWeb Marketing Therapy
ciena rose william
(April 15th, 2011 at 1:47 pm)
Great blog!
After reading your blog I started thinking about marketing in terms of baking and cooking.Growing up I never learned anything about food preparation. Then suddenly at twenty I was thrust into a situation where I needed to cook for thirty people in a somewhat rustic environment.By the seat of my pants…combined with good intuition and survival skills…I became a really great cook.
Baking however does not respond well to creative chaos.It is more like chemistry and demands precession and order.
Good marketing needs both the cooking elements ~ the great ideas…and the baking elements ~ the brilliant, strategic, execution. As David Meerman Scott says…you can not reheat a souffle.