Marketing plan
Ahhhhhh….. I feel so much better! Last time I wrote, I felt a little nuts (as usual) because I realized just how behind I was with my marketing and PR. Now we all know that a marketing plan is something you should have. Usually it goes hand in hand with your business plan, but how often do we really look at that? (Not often enough) I did do a marketing plan that went along with my business plan that outlined my basic sales and marketing strategies for 5 years. It was VERY broad, spoke in very general terms and it was written when I didn’t have a business to run in earnest, my product wasn’t even on the shelves and I knew 100% less then I do now. I still don’t know all that much, but it is most certainly a great deal more then back then. I really didn’t like that feeling last week of being behind and I had so many ideas in my head and so much going on with the launch in October, Holiday gift guides, pitching the woman’s and business publications with the “story” behind the launch etc… that I needed to purge all that stuff in my head. For the millionth time, I’m about to just tell you what I have done. This is not a how-to manual for running a business by any means (I’m just winging here) BUT maybe you can get an idea or two from how I have done things or read what I did, and come up with something better.
So realizing that I was not organized with my “timeline” on how things need to flow through-out the year, I went back to some of those “outlining” skills I learned in high school and came up with something I am proud of. I actually feel very at peace with things right now, because from all that mess in my head, came out a wonderful marketing plan that I can follow. I printed out the months January – December and left lots of space underneath each month. I took my 3 sheets of paper to the gym and set them on the treadmill. (That’s where I do A LOT of my best thinking) I know, it’s Saturday, but the kids really like the gals at the gym daycare, and mommy needed to get a run in to clear her head! I did a 10 minute warm up and just walked at a slow pace. During that time, with pen in hand, I scribbled a few things that came to me. I wrote the no brainers like November- pitch the food publications for spring/summer, December-Pitch shopping/women’s publications for Father’s Day gift guides etc…) Then I put the pen down and did a 2 mile run. During that time I just let my mind wander all over the place. I thought about when to make sales calls on certain stores depending on the time of year and their latitude… yep, based on latitude!) I mentally categorized where I could start making calls and how early in the “season”. For example, in Florida, I can pretty much call on stores year round, in the northeast; the stores don’t even get grilling until June and July, when most of the other stores are done with buying any new grilling items, when to call on the catalogs (LONG lead time) and a million other ideas. Then when my quick 2 miles was up, I walked again for another 20 minutes and my fingers were flying!! NOBODY else could EVER possibly read my scribble if their life depended on it, but they don’t have to. I could see that my sales and marketing plan was taking shape right before my sweaty, nasty, stinky face and it was beautiful. All those ideas and deadlines and “angles” and tradeshow dates and preparations finally had a home! I began to see a few months however that were looking a little skimpy and that’s where the REAL creativity has to come into play. I’m sure you can relate. Some months are just slow in your business right? Well for me, August and September were looking a little pathetic. That time of the year it’s hard to call on new stores with a grilling accessory because the grilling season is just about over. The holidays are coming, but it’s too late for the larger stores and catalogs as they did their holiday buying over the summer. It’s too early for the small independent stores because they do a lot of their buying at the shows or in October/November. I wasn’t satisfied with my two wimpy little months as I still needed something to generate some income! Just because business is slow and it’s not the right “season” doesn’t mean I can sit around twiddling my thumbs and not make my monthly bill payments! So outside the box I went… and then it came to me… TAILGATING SEASON!!!! That’s a whole angle all unto itself!! And with that came a whole new flood of ideas to fill up my pathetic little months! So now, I feel like I have a plan, a direction, a timeline, a clue… and it feels GREAT!
Leslie Haywood, Founder and President of Charmed Life Products, Inventor of Grill Charms™ www.grillcharms.com
