Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
SPAN’s Marketing Plan Workbook A Guide for Turning Ideas into Action
2
SPAN’s Marketing Plan Workbook
A Guide for Turning Ideas into Action
© 2004 SPAN Press. Printed and bound in the United States of America. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system—except by a
reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper,
or on the Web—without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, please
contact the Small Publishers Association of North America, PO Box 9725 Colorado Springs
CO 80932-0725, 719-924-5534.
Although the publisher has made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of
information contained in this book, we assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies,
omissions, or any inconsistency herein. Any slights of people, places, or organizations are
unintentional.
First Printing, 2004
Second printing, 2005
Third Printing, 2006
E-book Version 2008
E-book Updated 2011
ISBN 0-9749404-1-0
LCCN 2004097873
3
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Aim of Marketing 4
Chapter 1 What Goes into a Marketing Plan? 5
Chapter 2 Look at Your Business Now 6
Chapter 3 Write Your Mission Statement 9
Chapter 4 Conduct Market Research 10
Chapter 5 Create Objectives 16
Chapter 6 Generate Your Message 18
Chapter 7 List Marketing Project Ideas 21
Chapter 8 Select and Implement Your Projects 23
Chapter 9 Evaluate Your Progress 26
Chapter 10 What’s Next: Marketing is Cyclic 27
Appendix A Bibliography 28
Appendix B Action Plan Sheets 29
4
Introduction
The aim of marketing is to generate customers for your business. The
purpose of a marketing plan is to answer the questions:
What should I sell?
Whom should I sell it to?
How do I sell it to them?
This workbook will guide you through the basics that need to be answered
when creating a marketing plan. From the general (mission statement and
objectives) to the specific (tasks and deadlines), you will create a custom plan
focused on your unique business situation. Since the plan is unique to you, there
are no wrong answers.
Your plan is a dynamic document and will change over time as you hear
new ideas and consider new possibilities. Actually, you are creating the first draft
of a plan. It is not forever. This dynamic quality should make it easier to answer
the questions and complete the lists in the following exercises.
In the workbook, we make use of one of the unchanging foundations of
modern marketing: the Four Ps. All marketing activities can be categorized under
Product, Place, Promotion, and Price. Several of the exercises use these four
pigeonholes to place ideas, projects, strengths, weaknesses, and other concepts.
By using the Four Ps, you are covering all the marketing bases.
One of the repeated activities in the workbook is written brainstorming
and list making. As most of us know, brainstorming is simply writing down all
ideas, without considering whether they are good, workable ideas or not. In
making your initial lists, don’t judge the ideas at first. You will pick the practical,
feasible ideas later. Any and all ideas are OK. They may come from your
experience, from an outside-source, or from your fellow publishers.
You are here because you are creative, adventurous, and want to improve
your publishing business.
Happy planning!
5
Chapter 1
What Goes into a Marketing Plan?
Why create a marketing plan? What is it good for? What does it do?
To repeat from the Introduction: The aim of marketing is to generate
customers for your business. The purpose of a marketing plan is to answer the
questions: What should I sell? Whom should I sell it to? How do I sell it to them?
The final result of your plan will be your Action Plan Sheets (see Appendix
B). The Action Plan will consist of prioritized projects that will ultimately create
customers for your business. Your Action Plan Sheets will contain tasks,
responsibilities, and deadlines and will be your “To Do” list.
The following is a brief outline of the process.
Examine your company’s current situation
Write your mission statement
Conduct market research
Create objectives
List alternative marketing projects
Decide on marketing projects
Write and implement action plans
Evaluate results when your projects are finished
6
Chapter 2
Look at Your Business Now
Most marketers don’t start from scratch. Usually they already have a
product with promotional projects, a distribution method (place), and a pricing
structure. Answer the following questions about your Four Ps at this time.
Product—What are you selling?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Place—Where are you selling your products?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Promotion—What are your promotional/marketing projects?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
7
Price—What are your prices and policies regarding terms, markups,
returns, etc.?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Conduct a SWOT Analysis—Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,
and Threats
A SWOT Analysis is a simple, powerful process for learning about your
business.
The strengths and weaknesses apply to internal factors within your
business. For example, strengths could be the quality of your product or your
selling skills. Weaknesses might be your lack of financial resources or a bad
location. Opportunities and threats relate to external circumstances.
Describe the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats relative to
your business:
Strengths
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Weaknesses
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
8
Opportunities
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Threats
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
9
Chapter 3
Write Your Mission Statement
Write a simple Mission Statement for your business. Give yourself
permission to change it during the marketing plan process. You may soon get
some new ideas that change your mission! Keep it to no more than four
sentences.
What am I selling? It’s not just a book. What are you really selling?
Information? Entertainment? New ways of thinking?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Whom am I going to sell it to?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Using your answers above, write your Mission Statement.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
10
Chapter 4
Conduct Market Research
Market research is the process of collecting information on your potential
customers and competitors. The purpose is to identify your best potential
customers.
Our marketing research process has three steps:
1. Determine what you want to know.
2. Conduct the research on your potential customers and competition.
3. Organize your research into a usable form.
Determine What You Want to Know.
Write down questions you would like to investigate about your potential
customers and your competition.
Customers
What do you want to know about your customers’ needs and motivations?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
11
What do you want to know about your customers’ demographics?
(For example: age, ethnicity, occupation, gender)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What do you want to know about your customers’ buying behavior?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What do you want to know about your customers’ media preferences?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
12
Conduct Research—Learn about your customers
Primary Information
Primary information is data you collect yourself, usually in the form of
surveys. The surveys can range from written forms to informal
conversations.
What are ways you can get primary information about your potential
customers?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Secondary Information
Secondary sources can come from many places, both inside and outside of
your company.
Internal Information—What information can you compile on your
customers from your own records (sales, shipping, customer lists, previous
research, etc.)?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
13
External Information—What kind of information can you obtain on your
customers from outside sources? Where can it be found (Web sites,
libraries, magazines, etc.)?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Organize Your Research
Define and prioritize three target markets with customer profiles. What
does your best customer “look like” with respect to demographics, buying
behavior, and media preferences? (For example, a customer profile for a
car repair book might be single females living in the suburbs who read
magazines.)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
14
Learn About Your Competition
Who are your competitors?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What do you want to learn about your competitors’ products,
places, promotions, and prices?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What are your competitors’ products? How are they promoting,
placing, and pricing them?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
15
How is your competition’s product better than yours? How is it worse?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What ideas and practices of your competitors can you adapt for your
own use?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
16
Chapter 5
Create Objectives
Objectives are what you want to accomplish, and by when. Objectives
have two parts. The first is a clear and quantifiable task. The second is a
deadline. Objectives can be big, such as “I want to retire in ten years with the
same income I have now.” Or they can be smaller, like “I want to buy stamps at
the post office before lunch.”
Many times in the planning process you will create objectives, large and
small. In this section you are being asked to develop objectives for your sales,
profits, and budgets. Although these objectives should be specific with an
outcome and deadline, it is important to realize they can (and probably should)
change as you move through the planning process.
Note: In this workbook, the concepts “objectives” and “goals” will be
considered interchangeable.
Develop Objectives
Develop objectives in the general categories of sales, profits, and budgets.
In a later chapter, you will develop objectives for specific marketing projects.
Complete these sentences (or write your own):
Sales
I want to sell __________________ units by ______________ (date).
Profits
I want to generate $______________ in profit by _______________ (date).
Budget
I want my marketing budget to be $________________ during this
time period _______________.
17
Write additional objectives pertaining to your specific situation
(sales, profit, and budget).
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
18
Chapter 6
Generate Your Message
You want to write a “message” that motivates your potential customers to
buy your product. Almost always, the only reason a person buys something is for
their own gain.
Customers respond to product benefits. Understanding your product
benefits is critical in writing your message.
What is a benefit? The dictionary says a benefit is “something that
enhances or promotes well-being.”
In developing your list of benefits, you should consider what needs your
product satisfies and apply them to your top target markets. When you
understand your target customers’ needs, you can write your benefits.
Benefits are different from features. Features are your product’s actions or
its characteristics. For example, the benefit of an automobile airbag is its safety.
A feature may be its speed of deployment or the composition of its fabric. People
want cars with airbags because of the safety benefit, not a feature.
List Your Benefits and Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
What are your three target markets from the market research
section on page 10?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
List the needs your product satisfies for these customers. Some needs
could include financial security, safety, love, entertainment, and good
health.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
19
Describe the benefits your product provides to your customers.
Benefits could be concepts like becoming richer, slimmer, happier,
healthier, or better educated on a specific topic.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What is your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)? What is the one benefit
that has the most impact and is the best motivator for your customers?
This is your USP.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Write a Message
What do you want your message to accomplish? If you have multiple
products, you can generate several messages.
Write several message objectives. (Possibilities might be “Sell product
through the Internet to my seminar.”)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
20
Brainstorm possible messages. Make a list of any and all ideas based on
your benefits and especially your USP.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Slim them down to three you feel will best motivate your potential
customers.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Put a star next to the one you believe will work best.
21
Chapter 7
List Marketing Project Ideas
Make lists of possible marketing projects for each of the Four P areas
(Product, Place, Promotion, Price). At this stage, any and all ideas are OK. Do
keep in mind your target markets and objectives from earlier sections. You will
decide on your Action Plan of projects in the next section.
Brainstorm marketing projects for product:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Brainstorm marketing projects for price:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
22
Brainstorm marketing projects for place/distribution:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Brainstorm marketing projects for promotion:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
23
Chapter 8
Select and Implement
Your Marketing Projects
Brainstorming ideas and generating lists are relatively easy exercises
compared with the demands of decision-making and implementation. In this
section, you will have to decide which projects you will tackle, construct time
lines, and figure out who will do the work.
Here is a process to help you choose your mix of effective projects.
Identify Existing Projects and Commitments
Write down any existing marketing projects and future commitments:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Slim Them Down
From your brainstorm lists (in Chapter 7 page 21), choose up to three
favorites in each of the Product, Price, Place, and Promotion categories.
Look at your objectives (Chapter 5 page 16) and your target markets in
each of these areas to make sure this is really where you want to go.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
24
Combine Your Projects into Major Categories
Your projects will probably cluster into major categories. For instance, you
may have several web site or public relations projects. Combine your
projects into three or four major groups.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Choose Four Projects
Choose four projects that match your objectives. Match your resources
including your talents, interests, finances, and time.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
25
Develop Action Plans
An action plan assigns tasks, responsibilities and deadlines to your
projects. At the top of your Action Plan Sheet, identify a marketing project
you want to implement. Create an objective for the project; include both a
measurable result and a deadline. There are five Action Plan Sheets in
Appendix B, page 29.
Write a list of tasks you need to complete to accomplish the project.
Include responsibilities and deadlines for each task.
In the example below, the project is to “Sell products on the SPAN Web
site” and the objective is to “Have 10 products on the Web site by July 1,
2006." The four tasks outline different parts of the project, who will do
them, and when they will start and finish.
Sample Action Plan
Project: Sell Products on the the SPAN Web site
Objective: Have 10 products on the Web site by July 1, 2006
Task Person Start Date Finish Date
Study shopping cart svcs. Sally Jan 1, 06 Jan 30, 06
Develop e-books Bob Feb.1, 06 May 1, 06
Design Web pages Betty May 1, 06 June 1, 06
Promote products Sally June 1, 06 July 1, 06
26
Chapter 9
Evaluate Your Progress
Evaluating your results is an important step on the road to success. Many
times we move on to the next project without taking the time to formally record
an evaluation of the process. As a follow-up to the marketing plan projects, we
need to write down what we accomplished and what we learned.
Here is a simple evaluation process:
Write down your objective for the project, and then write down your
results. For example, your objective might be “I will do 20 radio interviews
in 2004.”
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Write a report about the projects. What went well? What did not go well?
What would you do the same or differently next time?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
27
Chapter 10
What’s Next: Marketing is Cyclic
Like the seasons, marketing planning and implementation is cyclic. One
project finishes and another starts. There may be a beginning, but there is no
end, as long as you are seeking out customers and selling a product.
SPAN’s Marketing Plan Workbook is intended to be a starting point. It is a
framework for all the myriad ideas, disciplines, and processes involved in book
publishing.
Marketing, by definition, is customer centered. You will be successful if
you use the planning process and the Four Ps to:
Create a product attractive to your target customers
Promote in a way that appeals to your customers
Sell in a convenient place
Provide your product at a competitive price
For many authors, marketing is not their first profession. They are in
medicine, education, technology, law, and dozens of other careers. To sell books
you need to think of yourself as a marketer. You don’t have to think of yourself
as a marketer first. Of all the labels you put on yourself—employee,
businessperson, parent, golfer, swimmer, or activist—being a marketer should
be close to the top.
SPAN’s mission is to educate and empower independent publishers and
authors. Marketing and other business topics make up the largest part of our
educational efforts. We would love to hear your marketing experiences. Our
online community, SPANnet.org, is a great place for you to share them. Share
your stories, and especially your planning experiences online in our Marketing
Group http://www.spannet.org/group/bookmarketing.
Again, happy planning!
Brad Poulson, SPAN Executive Director
September 2011
28
29
Appendix A
Bibliography
Bangs, David H., Jr. The Market Planning Guide: Creating a Plan to Successfully
Market Your Business, Product or Service. Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing,
2002.
Fry, Patricia. The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book
A Comprehensive Guide to Successful Authorship. Ojai, CA: Matilija Press, 2006
Jud, Brian. Beyond the Bookstore: How to Sell More Books Profitably to Non-
Bookstore Markets. New York: Reed Business Press, 2004.
Kampmann, Eric. The Midpoint Handbook: The 7 Keys to Publishing Success. New
York: Midpoint Trade Books, 2006
Koberg, Don and Jim Bagnal. The Universal Traveler: A Soft-Systems Guide to
Creativity, Problem Solving and the Process of Reaching Goals. Menlo Park, CA:
Crisp Publications, 2002.
Kremer, John. 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. Fairfield, IA: Open Horizons,
2006.
Levinson, Jay Conrad, Rick Frishman, and Michael Larsen. Guerilla Marketing for
Writers: 100 Weapons for Selling Your Work. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest Books,
2001.
Reiss, Fern. The Publishing Game: Bestseller in 30 Days. Newton, MA: Peanut
Butter and Jelly Press, 2003.
Ross, Marilyn. The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest
Books, 2002.
Sansevieri, Penny. From Book to Bestseller. Hewlett, NY: PublishingGold.com,
2005
30
Appendix B Action Plan Sheet
Project _________________________________________________
Objective _________________________________________________
Task Person Start Date Finish Date
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
31
Action Plan Sheet
Project _________________________________________________
Objective _________________________________________________
Task Person Start Date Finish Date
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
32
Action Plan Sheet
Project _________________________________________________
Objective _________________________________________________
Task Person Start Date Finish Date
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
33
Action Plan Sheet
Project _________________________________________________
Objective _________________________________________________
Task Person Start Date Finish Date
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
34
Action Plan Sheet
Project _________________________________________________
Objective _________________________________________________
Task Person Start Date Finish Date
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
