Developing a marketing plan is an essential part of launching a business. Without a solid strategy for spreading the word about your company, you won't be able to attract new leads or build up a loyal customer base.
However, planning out your marketing strategies comes with a lot of challenges. Even with the best ideas and intentions, there are still aspects of your plans that could go wrong. Below, seven members of Forbes Agency Council share some of the ways entrepreneurs creating a marketing plan can run into trouble, as well as how they can avoid problems. Here's what they said:
1. Not Getting The Right Market Insights
When you don't have enough market insight or the right insight, the plan is based on a vague view of the market you're trying to reach and doesn't go deep enough. Start by understanding your customers. Go along to sales meetings; hear the market challenges first hand in the field. This insight on what triggers customers to buy from your firm will allow you to build a marketing plan to scale sales. - Alisha Lyndon, MomentumABM
2. Underestimating Your Timeline
Timelines are always underestimated. I create "false deadlines" for myself and my team so we always have the client deliverables ready well in advance and are over-prepared for the unknowns. - Kim Lawton, Enthuse Marketing
3. Creating Your Marketing Plan Before You Have Your MVP
A common pitfall in developing a marketing plan centers around timing of the plan itself. Many startups and entrepreneurs are all too focused on their go-to-market marketing strategy before having nailed down a profitable minimum viable product to share with the world. Substantial research should be performed to not only identify a winning idea but one that's strong enough to compel customers away from competitors. - Tara Carter, Tangelo, LLC
4. Not Matching Your Marketing Channels To Your Audience Preferences
The one aspect you want to be crystal clear on is your audience. Who are they? What makes them tick? What problems do they face? Having a deep understanding of your target demographic helps you focus your messaging and decide on which channels to target. - Nishank Khanna, Demand Roll
5. Losing Sight Of Your Overall Goal
Too often, marketers are starstruck by trendy tactics. Losing sight of the goal is the one thing that often goes wrong with any marketing plan. A clever idea does not a marketing plan make. Another thing that can go wrong is trying to solve too many problems with one marketing plan. Get really clear on your audience and defined goals, and you'll avoid this misstep. - Danica Kombol, Everywhere Agency
6. Overestimating Sales
On the one hand, it is great to aim for the best possible results. On the other hand, it is also crucial to be realistic with your sales forecast. If you are too sure about selling a certain product or service, you may spend too much budget for fewer margins than you would have expected. - Alessandro Bogliari, The Influencer Marketing Factory
Read more in How To Apply The Best Practices To Your Marketing Budget Planning
7. Executing The Plan
Coming up with ideas is great and exciting, but making sure you have the time and resources in place to execute is half the battle. I have been involved in multiple companies, and we leave marketing meetings with unbelievable ideas, but when it comes to execution it's sometimes hard to find the right resources to make everything happen perfectly. - Blake George, BMG Media
