Marketing Plan Handbook Develop Big Picture Marketing Plans for Pennies on the Dollar

by Bly, Robert W.

• ISBN13: 9781599183626
• ISBN10: 1599183625
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-03-01
• Publisher: Entrepreneur Press

Summary

WRITE A WINNING MARKETING PLAN!Successful marketing consultant Robert W. Bly cuts through the clutter of short-lived marketing techniques and trendy gimmicks and reveals the critical steps necessary to build a practical marketing plan that produces the results of an expensive consultant without the hefty costs."Bob has the uncanny ability to take huge concepts and break them down in to practical, actionable steps. He does it again inThe Marketing Plan Handbook. It's a no-brainer that applying the wisdom in this book will add incremental dollars to your business' bottom line." MaryEllen Tribby, Publisher/CEO of Early To Rise, Founder of Working Moms Only.com"Most marketing books give you a list of cookie-cutter tactics you don't have time or budget for, along with some examples from famous brands that don't apply to anyone else's reality. This handbook is completely different. It's specifically for an entrepreneur or small business owner who needs to figure out a marketing plan that fits their special vision, wished-for lifestyle, and customers like a glove. Even if you're thinking of hiring a marketer or agency to help your business, read this book FIRST. You'll need it to give them the perfect directions for your unique business." Anne Holland, founder of Marketing Sherpa"The Marketing Plan Handbookis loaded with rules, secrets, case histories, forms, charts, and worksheets on every facet of marketing and direct marketing. Bly never lets you lose sight of the essentialscontinual accountability, analyzing (and besting) the competition, and the all-important arithmetic of return on investment." Denny Hatch, founder of Who's Mailing What!"Bob concisely lays the secrets to his success, AND the very tools he uses to make hundreds of his clients more money than they ever dreamed possible. Don't stop. Start reading this book nowbefore your competition does!" Steve Wexler, president of The Steve Wexler Creative Group

Author Biography

Robert W. Bly has been an independent copywriter and marketing consultant for more than a quarter of a century. He has worked with more than 100 clients including Boardroom, Phillips, IBM, Nortel, Agora, Prentice Hall, and Grumman. He is the author of more than 75 books and he currently writes regular columns for Target Marketing Magazine and The Writer.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. XV
Harness the Power of Vision	p. 1
Design Your Business to Deliver the Lifestyle You Seek	p. 3
SIDEBAR Write Conversational Copy for the Best Marketing Results	p. 9
Go Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams	p. 11
Begin With the End in Mind	p. 12
Paint a Picture of the Possible	p. 13
ACTION Write Your Vision Statement	p. 15
SIDEBAR Crafting Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)	p. 18
Let Your Vision Protect You From Making Bad Decisions	p. 21
Decide What Business You're In	p. 23
SIDEBAR Crafting Your Elevator Pitch	p. 26
Creating a Business to Fulfill Your Vision	p. 27
What is a Niche?	p. 28
SIDEBAR Micro-Niche Your Way to Success	p. 32
Why Is This a Good Niche for Us?	p. 34
ACTION Describe Your Niche	p. 40
SIDEBAR Are You Too Old to Start a Business?	p. 41
Get to Know Everything about Your Ideal Customer	p. 43
Qualifying Prospects	p. 44
Create a Customer Database	p. 46
Know Your Customers' "Core Buying Complex"	p. 50
What Do I Want to Know About My Ideal Client?	p. 52
SIDEBAR What The Apprentice can Teach You About Knowing Your Customers	p. 54
Don't Ignore Government Markets	p. 56
SIDEBAR 12 Government Market Facts at a Glance	p. 58
Nonprofit Marketing	p. 59
Know the Lifetime Value of Your Ideal Client	p. 60
Know Why Your Client Buys	p. 62
Know What Benefits Mean the Most to Your Client	p. 62
SIDEBAR Marketing to GOM (Grumpy Old Men)	p. 63
Know the Steps in Your Clients' Buying Process	p. 64
SIDEBAR Five Steps to the Perfect Guarantee	p. 65
Know Where Your Clients Go to Look for Information	p. 67
Know What You Can Learn from Your Current Clients	p. 68
Where Should I Look for Information?	p. 70
ACTION Describe Your Ideal Client	p. 72
Who is the Competition?	p. 75
SIDEBAR What They Say about You Online	p. 76
Who Is Your Top Competitor?	p. 76
Look for the Gaps in Service to Your Niche	p. 77
How Do I Learn More About My Competition?	p. 80
SIDEBAR Trade Shows in Your Marketing Mix	p. 80
ACTION Write Your Description of the Competition	p. 84
SIDEBAR Competition for the Information Marketer	p. 86
Strategize: Position Your Business	p. 89
Bull's-Eye: Position Your Business	p. 89
How to Build a Stronger USP	p. 91
Offer Proof for Your Positioning Statement and USP	p. 97
SIDEBAR Testimonials: The Quickest and Most Powerful Way to Support Your USP	p. 99
Describe What You Want to Accomplish This Year	p. 101
Your Business at a Glance: The Capabilities Brochure	p. 102
SIDEBAR Don't Forget the Yellow Pages	p. 106
ACTION Write Your Goals for Your Business for the Next Year	p. 108
Build Out Your Product Line	p. 113
Cost of Customer Acquisition vs. LCV	p. 115
Creating New Products	p. 117
Features and Benefits	p. 118
Turn Product Flaws Into Selling Points	p. 121
Buying Motivations: The FCB Grid	p. 123
Pricing	p. 124
Selling High-Priced Products	p. 131
SIDEBAR Pricing Strategies for Selling Services	p. 133
SIDEBAR Sell a Lifestyle, Not a Product	p. 134
Assess Your Tactics	p. 137
Determine the Response You Want from Your Target	p. 137
Decide What Message Will Stimulate This Behavior	p. 138
Decide Which Marketing Tactics Will Best Support Your Strategy	p. 141
Tactics That Reach Your Target Market	p. 143
Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing Tactics	p. 144
The Busy Doctor Syndrome	p. 147
The Silver Rule of Marketing	p. 149
Choose the Best Three to Five Tactics to Begin	p. 150
SIDEBAR Keyword Due Diligence	p. 153
Marketing in Larger Companies	p. 155
ACTION Identify the Tactics You'll Use	p. 157
SIDEBAR Selling to the "Starving Crowd"	p. 158
Integrate Online and Offline Marketing	p. 161
E-Mail Marketing	p. 161
SIDEBAR Five Ways to Get Your Website Ranked Higher on Google	p. 164
Writing and Publishing a Free E-Newsletter	p. 165
SEO Your Website	p. 167
SIDEBAR Add a "Recommended Vendors" Page to Your Site	p. 171
SIDEBAR How I Find Fresh E-Zine Content for 50 Cents per Article	p. 177
Increase E-Mail Address Capture	p. 177
Blogging	p. 180
Social Media	p. 182
SIDEBAR Getting Started on the Right Foot at Twitter	p. 184
Put Your Measurements in Place	p. 187
What Metrics Should You Measure?	p. 188
Calculating Marketing RDI	p. 190
Calculating and Measuring ROTI	p. 192
SIDEBAR Doubling Hour and Doubling Day	p. 194
Measuring Web Metrics	p. 197
Marketing Performance Reporting	p. 204
Create the Tracking System	p. 206
Determine How Often to Review the Data	p. 206
ACTION Write what and How You'll Measure	p. 207
SIDEBAR Predicting the Probable Success or Failure of a New Product or Marketing Idea	p. 208
Write Your Plan	p. 211
Write It Down to Get It Done	p. 211
SIDEBAR Use a Swipe File to Write Promotions Better and Faster	p. 213
Create a One-Year Plan	p. 215
Budget	p. 217
Plot Major Campaigns First	p. 220
Break It Down	p. 222
ACTION Write Your Plan	p. 223
SIDEBAR 10 Ways to Stretch Your Marketing Budget	p. 224
Work it!-Implementation	p. 229
What Stage Is Your Business In?	p. 230
Copy: The Foundation of Implementation	p. 232
Write the Way Prospects Talk	p. 234
Writing Great Headlines	p. 237
More Copy Tips	p. 240
Make Liberal Use of Free Offers	p. 242
SIDEBAR Promote Yourself by Writing Articles	p. 247
Schedule Your Action Steps for the Next 30 Days	p. 249
Follow These Keys to Success	p. 249
Review and Troubleshoot Your Plan	p. 251
SIDEBAR How Good a Marketer Are You?	p. 252
What You Should Review	p. 254
A Sales Tactic for Overcoming Price Resistance	p. 254
Good, Better, Best	p. 256
SIDEBAR The Psychology of Pricing	p. 257
Testing Your Marketing Campaigns	p. 259
What Price Pulls Best?	p. 262
How To Troubleshoot Your Plan	p. 264
What to do When It's Not Working	p. 265
Non-Marketing Causes of Marketing Plan Failures	p. 266
Honor Your Refund Policy Pleasantly	p. 269
SIDEBAR Don't Waste Your Customer's Time	p. 274
Appendices
Glossary	p. 277
Forms & Worksheets	p. 287
Model Marketing Plan	p. 305
Marketing Consultants	p. 315
Sources & Resources	p. 321
Index	p. 325
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