Is Your Marketing Plan Integrated?
It is used to be that companies that invested in a marketing plan at all only had to craft their marketing plan for a brick and mortar world. Even after the advent of the Internet, many companies didn’t integrate an online marketing plan. The first wave of Internet marketing was largely new startups and gutsy entrepreneurs experimenting with how to position their businesses online.
Today, however, all marketing wisdom gathered through the ages has changed.
If you want to survive in the marketplace today, then you need an integrated marketing plan. That’s a marketing plan that takes into consideration the traditional aspects of marketing (branding, public relations/press releases, TV, radio, print advertising, etc.) that you’ve grown accustomed to and online marketing techniques that have developed over the last twenty years.
The challenge for most small businesses is in deciding what the proper mix of integration should be. Do you need 75% traditional marketing and 25% online marketing or vice-versa?
Unfortunately, there’s no hard and fast rule. If you intend to do business online, then you need a website, that much is certain. But do you need a blog, social media, search engine optimization, or e-mail marketing? Possibly. And even if you do decide to incorporate them into your marketing plan, how much of each tactic should you invest in? The answer all depends upon your business goals and who you’re trying to reach.
Every company is different. And every marketing plan is different, therefore your needs are going to be different. That’s why you need someone to help you navigate the wacky world of marketing today. It isn’t as simple as it once may have been, as new tactics appear frequently and the search engines change daily. In fact, there are so many variables and frequent changes that to try to market your business without a guide has become very difficult.
Creating an integrated marketing plan for your business isn’t rocket science – but we do recommend seeking the help of an experienced marketing professional to help you navigate the waters – you’ll get to your destination faster and at a lower cost than experimenting on your own.
Published on: December 19, 2012