Writing a marketing plan

 

The marketing plan is a vital part of any business, whether its small, medium, or a multi-national corporation. A marketing plan, if written, researched and planned correctly will allow you to give your marketing team a starting point from which to work their plan of action from.

 

A marketing plan not only gives to a starting point, but also allows you to chart your success and progress according to how you planned it out in the initial stages.

You will also be able to keep your eye on the ball with a well structured marketing plan, as it is sometimes difficult to remember the parts of your plan that are not directly linked to day to day operations; with a proper, documented plan, you can reflect on it at any time.

 

There are a few things to keep in mind before you start writing a marketing plan, and even so, you should give yourself a few months at least to get it done, or you will find yourself rushing the job and will be at risk of dropping the ball at key moments.

 

Firstly, remember that creating this plan will mean that your marketing team will, first and foremost, have to take a look at the internal structures of your marketing campaign to identify strengths and weaknesses. They will also need to evaluate the market that your company works in to identify trends in the market that you could capitalize on.

 

Once you have done your research and are able to begin the process of writing the plan, begin with a clear and concise mission statement. This statement should be able to describe in two or three paragraphs what your company does, how it interacts with clients and which markets you serve or plan to serve in future.

 

Next, you will be compiling the bulk of your marketing plan, which includes detailed explanations of your target markets, products, your offered services, as well as your detailed marketing plan – the one that you plan to implement through your various channels.

 

You will also have to provide a thorough understanding of your competition, and come up with effective ways of keeping your company one step ahead of theirs. This step must show that you have an understanding on some level of your opposition’s business processes, customer base, product line, etc.

 

The last step of your initial write up will be the setting of your objectives. You will need to set goals for your marketing team that are both realistic (since they will need to achieve these goals within a set amount of time) and quantifiable (because you will need to be able to measure the progress by some means, for example, financially or by business growth percentages).

 

Written By Wesley Geyer

Creative Writer for ATKA SA

New Laws on Mobile Marketing in South Africa

Privacy laws in South Africa have been getting a lot of attention over the last four years, and as a result, many of the existing laws have been reassessed and some of them adapted to better suit the current technological state of our society. While the biggest change among them all is undoubtedly the proposed Protection of State Information Bill, which is still being hotly contested my many parties and organizations, some of the other fundamental electronically based protection Bills have been edited.

 

The Protection of Private Information Bill, revised in 2009, had before then allowed parties using e-mail databases for marketing campaigns to do so lawfully as long as they provided both a valid identity and the option to unsubscribe from further communication. With the new law in effect, e-mail marketing must be more strictly structured in order to be considered lawful. For instance, e-mails can only be sent to existing customers, and must only be used to promote products or services similar to those that have previously been purchased.

 

In terms of the collection of personal information, the new law does not make the sale of e-mail databases for marketing purposes illegal, but makes the collection process much more open. For instance, the potential client must be notified that their information will be used for marketing purposes, and must be asked for their express permission before the sale of their information to a third party can take place.

 

The new law also places strict emphasis on the type of information that can be collected via these means. Information on children, sexual activity, religion, political affiliation, health and criminal behavior or history may not be collected, as these are considered ‘special’ aspects of personal information.

 

As a result, the newly enforced law concerning mobile/e-mail marketing have made the process of collection as well as the distribution and use of personal information more privacy oriented, and if used correctly could make the relation between client and marketer more cohesive. However, the strictness of the law will mean that many current users of the e-mail marketing technique would have to reevaluate their processes in order to adhere.

 

Written By Wesley Geyer

Creative Writer for ATKA SA