Accomplish your marketing goals with a well-developed marketing plan
(Part 1 in a series on helping you plan and execute your marketing communications pieces)

What messages do you want to communicate in your marketing pieces? Do you find yourself creating marketing pieces that don't communicate key messages consistently? Who is the target audience? How are your competitors doing in the market? A well-developed marketing plan can answer these questions and more.

A solid marketing plan helps you determine the marketing activities and documents you'll use to promote your product or service, plan an event, or execute an integrated marketing campaign.

For your creatives (writers, designers, Web developers, etc.), a marketing plan is an invaluable tool for planning all types of marcom pieces. Because a marketing plan lists the types of documents to be created, your creatives can brainstorm eye-catching layouts, get print quotes early in the process, and most importantly, create a unified look and feel for strong, consistent branding.

Still not convinced? Think about the benefits a marketing plan can bring you. Developed well in advance, a marketing plan can:

• Give you a long-term view of your marketing activities, and what you'll need to achieve your marketing goals
  
• Help you save money by avoiding rush charges on printing or last-minute writing and design work
  
• Allow you to measure the effectiveness of each marketing medium and concentrate your dollars on the most effective tools

A marketing plan might also consist of:

• An analysis of past and current marketing efforts - what worked and what didn't?
  
• Information on the target market
  
• An analysis of your direct and indirect competitors in the market
  
• The results that you hope to achieve by implementing your marketing strategy, and the benchmarks by which you will measure your success
  
• Your marketing budget for the company, campaign, or product
  
• A list, schedule, and budget of all needed marketing pieces, i.e., brochures, Web copy, sales sheets, white papers, articles, etc.

A marketing plan is a smart way to plan and execute your marketing activities, and Jumping Bean can customize one for you. If you don't have the "bandwidth" to develop a plan—or don't know how—Jumping Bean can help you out. After interviewing your team and learning what you want to accomplish, we'll develop a plan for you quickly.

A marketing plan gives you a long-term view of your marketing efforts. You'll know where your money is going, and you'll be ready to clearly communicate the benefits of your product, service, or event.

For more information on how Jumping Bean can develop a marketing plan for you, call us at (773) 562-6093 or send an email to info@jumpbean.com.

Next issue: Set the tone with the creative platform

Resources

Startup Journal (The Wall Street Journal) -- Find out how much of your budget you can devote to marketing using these helpful wizards.

EntreWorld: Resources for Entreprenueurs -- Provides information on market research, competitive analysis, and other aspects of building a marketing plan.

Kiamy, Dee: High-Tech Marketing Companion. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison Wesley, 1993.

King, Janice M.: Writing High-tech Copy That Sells. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1995.

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Multimedia
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Communicate the right messages in all of your marketing materials
Do you have an Elevator Pitch?
How do you market to techies/developers? Search engines, articles, and more
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Video is as hot as an Arizona sun

Misc
Accomplish your marketing goals with a well-developed marketing plan
Set the tone with the creative platform
Make your PowerPoints stand out