Marketing Strategy Workbook
Developed by Alisa Kirk UGA SBDC at the Clayton State
Compliments of the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center in Athens Step 1: Complete a SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
List the strengths of
your company (and yourself).
Weaknesses:
List the weaknesses of your company
(and yourself).
Opportunities: List the opportunities in the marketplace that
your company could take advantage of.
Threats: List the external forces that could threaten your company.
Step 2: Analyze your SWOT
How can you:
Use your strengths to maximize opportunities?
Overcome or neutralize your weaknesses?
Use your strengths to mitigate threats? Step 3: Define Your Objectives Page 3 What do you hope to accomplish with this marketing strategy (be specific)? In other words, if this were a game and you won, what exactly would you win?
Step 4: Define your Target Market(s) Who are they? (consider your Opportunities list on Page 2)
Customer 1: Customer 2: Customer 3:
Demographics:
Facts like age, income level, type of company
Geographics:
Location-related information
Psychographics:
Lifestyle or cultural information Step 5: Analyze your Target Market(s)
Answer these questions as they pertain to the products/services you sell.
Customer 1: Customer 2: Customer 3:
Wants: What exactly do these customers want from
your industry (and you)?
Needs:
What exactly does the customer really need?
Fears:
What fears or appre- hensions might the customer have about buying the product/ service in general, and from you particularly?
Solutions:
How can your product/ service help these cus- tomers solve the prob- lems above?
Actions: As a result of this strategy, what action do you want these customers to take? (Buy, place an order, connect with you, etc.) Step 6: Define Your Competitive Advantage Page 5 Why will your target customers buy from you and not your competitor? What value do you bring to them that no one else can bring? How are you special?
What proof do you have to back up your competitive advantage?
For example, if customer service is your competitive advantage, can you say that 95% of your new customers come from referrals, or that you have a 98% customer retention rate?
Step 7: Define Your Brand
How do you want your customers to see you?
What words describe your company?
(Quirky, fun, dedicat- ed, caring, etc.)
How do you want your media to look?
(both printed and online media; think of colors, shapes, images, too)
What tone do you want your media to take (how do you want your customers to feel when they experience it)? Step 8: Think Like Your Customer What channels might be good places to reach your customer?
Customer 1 Customer 2 Customer 3
Traditional Word of mouth referrals
Affiliate marketing
Trade shows/personal networking
Promotional materials (flyers, business cards)
Point of purchase advertising
Yellow pages/directories
Direct marketing (personal sales, handouts)
Telemarketing
Television (ads, product placement)
Radio (ads, product placement, sponsorships)
Direct Mail
Magazine/Trade publications/Newspaper Ads
Billboards/Other signage
Event participation & sponsorships
Traditional Content promotion (videos, articles, etc.)
or Online Public relations campaign
Online Online marketplaces (eBay, Amazon, etc.)
Blogs
Paid online search engine marketing
Social networking sites (Facebook, etc.)
Website (search engine optimization)
Mobile (apps, mobile ads, etc.)
Online display (banner ads, video ads, etc.) Step 9: Choose Your Words Page 7 What words and phrases are potential customers likely to type into search engines like Google or Bing when they’re looking for your product/service?
Step 10: Consider Your Budget
How much did you budget for marketing? How will you know which channels bring the highest return on your marketing dollar investment? Fill in the chart and then use these formulas to compare options: Campaign______
# of Contacts made in this campaign (emails sent, calls made, circulation of newspaper, etc.)
Total Cost of campaign
Response Rate: % of responses expected from contacts made
Conversion Rate: % of responders expected to make a purchase
Average Profit per sale
Cost Cost per Responder = Response Rate × Contacts
Cost Cost per Buyer = Conversion Rate × Response Rate × Contacts
How many buyers will you need before this campaign breaks even?
Cost Breakeven Number of Buyers = Average Profit
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Use the spreadsheet on the next page to create your marketing plan, and the calendar on Page 10 to schedule the 10 tasks. Page toon calendar schedule the and plan, marketing nextyour create to page the on Use the spreadsheet
For each objective in Step 3, use your Analysis (Step 5) to draft a strategy to reach each Target Customer group. Consider y group. to Customer Target each reach a strategy Analysis your draft to (Step Step5) inuse 3, For objective each you brand the Choose (Step mind channels 7). in your Analysiskeep (Step 6) and page). Here (see a next spreadsheet in will downsteps tactics broken be intoaction These tactics each. for Step 11: Put It Together It Put 11: Step Marketing Strategy Planning Worksheet Objective Strategy Tactic Action Task Deadline Who Tools Cost
Month 12 Month
Month 11 Month
Month 10 Month
Month 9 Month
Month 8 Month
Month 7 Month
Month 6 Month
Month 5 Month
Marketing Strategy Calendar Strategy Marketing
Month 4 Month
Month 3 Month
Month 2 Month
Month 1 Month
Task Step 12: Measure the Impact of Your Campaign
Keep track of the results of each campaign so that you can plan future spending accordingly. Plan to re-evaluate on a regular basis. Measure leads and contacts generated as well as sales.
(Return on Investment)
Profit Earned from Campaign — Spending on Campaign ROI = Spending on Campaign
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Phone: 706-542-7436 educational services for small Fax: 706-542-6803 business owners and aspiring E-mail: [email protected] entrepreneurs. www.georgiasbdc.org
SBDC Georgia offers no- business owners. Our consultants provide assistance in many areas of
financial analysis. Please contact us if you need assistance preparing
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are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.