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Your marketing plan is not your business plan!Posted by Nicole CoyneOn June 11, 2020

Your marketing plan is not your business plan! 1

When I meet business owners the conversation most often turns to them sharing their business vision, their why, and their business focuses. I’m a coach, I ask questions, it happens.
However, there will often be times where a business owner will talk about their plans, but what they are actually talking about are their marketing plans, not their business plans.
Marketing, sales and brand awareness are a very large part of your business, but it is not the be all and end all. Your marketing plan is not your business plan, it is but just one piece of the business planning puzzle.
So what is the difference? In short, your marketing strategy will be guided by your business plan. Your business plan provides the business vision and focuses for all areas in the business and your marketing plans help to drive revenue into the business. However, if there is no business plan, then essentially you are driving blind.
First and foremost, before diving into a plan and marketing your business, clarify your business vision. All the decisions you will be making in your business need to be based on the same thing, your vision. This keeps you on track and focused during challenging times.
If you looking to structure a business plan think about some of these other components.

  1. People – You could have the best product or service, the most unique competitive advantage and the most ingenious marketing plan, however if your people are not up to task then your business success will be short lived. Your team, as well as yourself are key resources in the business. Your skills, behaviours, culture and attitude will either add value to your business or will negatively impact your service delivery.

    Think about the following when it comes to your people:

  • What culture do want to have in your business? What values do you want shining through when you are engaging with your clients? As the business owner you are the driver of the business culture. The people that you select to work in your business should be selected on their skills and capabilities, but also on their values and attitude.
  • What does your internal structure look like? Does everyone have a job description? If you have a business partner are you clear on your roles and responsibilities?
  • What training, coaching and HR processes do you have in place? What is your people plan? When you hire people in your business, you stop becoming just the do-er, but you become the mentor, disciplinarian, teacher. How well equipped are you for these roles?
  • How well do you communicate with your teams, customers, suppliers? What communication mediums do you use? How often will you be engaging in structured meetings with your people? Defective communication can be highlighted as one of the main reasons for business failure.
  • Who are your suppliers? What kind of relationship do you have with them? Are there alternative suppliers you could utilise if your main supplier was unable to supply? What is your plan B?
  1. Product/Service  – A business is built on product or service demand. If your intended target audience is not interested in your product or service, then you have no business. Before spending all your time, money and efforts in marketing a product or service be very clear and realistic on the market demand. A feasibility study would be advised in this instance. An in-depth assessment of demand, trends and competition. I know it is not easy hearing negative or critical feedback, especially if you have had your heart set on a certain product or service offering. But rather negative feedback than complete business failure due to sticking your head in the sand.

  2. Another area to consider is your pricing model. How have you costed your product and/or services? Is it worth your while to be selling this product or service? Is your pricing structure a thumb suck or have you clarified what it actually costs you to deliver a specific product/service? In this instance you would need to consider, labour, cost of goods, courier services. It is also a good idea to assess your competitors. How competitive are you or have you priced yourself right out of the market?  Lastly, will your current pricing model help you achieve your monthly revenue targets?

  3. Operations management, supply chain, systems and processes – This is the business’ ability to streamline systems and processes so that your products and services can be delivered to your target audience in the quickest possible time frame, at the best quality and at the lowest cost to you. What do your internal systems and processes look like? Are there bottlenecks in the business? Are you duplicating tasks or are things falling through the cracks?

    Irrespective of the size of your business, there will always be a need for systems and processes. As your team, product/service offering, customer base grows so will your need for the best systems and processes. Ordering systems, customer experience, stock controls, sales processes – these and many more will either have a positive or negative affect on your business depending how well they are implemented and structured.

  4. Financial goals – Unless you are a charity, one of your key business objectives will be to gain revenue and to control expenses.  Get into the habit of implementing healthy financial habits. Forecasting, budgeting and assessing expenses.
Business is not a “set and forget” game. There is a constant need to be evaluating and reflecting on what has taken place so future actions can be tweaked and shifted to better achieve the goals. Without a business plan, vision and set of focuses you are depriving your business from reaching its goals.
Take the time out to structure your business plans correctly, to get your ducks in a row. Take the time to build a strong business foundation, so that when you go to market with your marketing plan you can  deliver on your promise. Set yourself and your business up for success.
Needing help? Get in contact with Nicole Coyne [email protected]
Nicole Coyne
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Nicole is a certified professional coach as well as a certified trainer, advanced assessor and coach mentor. Based in Auckland, she provides a range of coaching options, from individual business owner and management coaching, group and team coaching workshops to personal coaching. Her coaching practice is aligned to the ICF ethos and ethics. Need to hire a professional coach? Contact Nicole [email protected] 

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