REALTOR® Magazine Online: Marketing Plan Musts

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			*Marketing your brokerage* Setting Marketing Strategies
	Setting Marketing Strategies Analyzing the Business Climate Creating Your Market Identity Planning Your Advertising Coordinating Company and Salesperson Marketing Developing Public Relations Strategies Enhancing Customer Service		Marketing Plan Musts Every company’s marketing plan will be different, but here are some tips for making your plan valuable: Plan at least one year at a time, with guidelines on goals and directions for the next three years. Base your marketing plan around a calendar year or the start of your fiscal year if it doesn’t begin in January. Set specific objectives (probably no more than five or six) then provide specific actions—such as increasing advertising—to achieve them. Set realistic objectives; otherwise, the plan is nothing more than wishful thinking. Ask key team members to help you assess whether the plan is attainable. Share your marketing plan with the entire company, both during development and after it's completed. Look at and review your plan at least quarterly—monthly is better—and make adjustments to your strategies. Portions adapted from "How to Create a Marketing Plan," Laura Tiffany, at www.entrepreneur.com What Marketing Planning Can and Can't Do Can Do Enhance the company's ability to integrate all marketing activities to achieve corporate goals and objectives. Minimize surprises due to changes in the environment. Establish benchmarks for all levels of the firm. Improve managers' ability to manage, since expectations are spelled out. Can't Do Provide a crystal ball for predicting the future. Prevent management from making mistakes. Provide answers for every major decision. Last all year without any modifications. Adapted from Chapter 6, "The Marketing Plan" (p. 123) in Own Your Own: How to Start, Develop, and Manage a New Business by Robert D. Hisrich and Michael P. Peters (Business One Irwin, 1992) 6 Ways to Get Salespeople to Buy Into Your Marketing Plan To make your marketing plan most effective, get the whole company involved. Show the plan to everyone. People who feel personally involved with a goal put more effort into making it succeed. Create commitment by involving sales associates in your marketing plan and showing them your ideas. Ask for feedback. Asking for opinions benefits you in two ways. First, it boosts your team’s confidence by confirming that their feedback is valuable to you. Second, it gives you realistic input about what’s achievable, which makes the plan more likely to succeed. Rally the troops. Everyone wants to be part of a winning team. Use your marketing plan to energize and excite your staff. Assign specific tasks. A marketing plan contains several objectives. Match up individuals with specific goals. Also, help people work together more effectively by creating team goals. Monitor results. To keep interest in your marketing plan high, give progress reports at least quarterly. Let your staff know how close they are to meeting plan objectives. Reward success. Presenting rewards for attaining certain goals is a surefire way to increase motivation. Tell your sales associates what they will earn for completing a goal, and present rewards to them during a special ceremony involving the whole office. Adapted from Laura Tiffany, “How to Create a Marketing Plan,” www.entrepreneur.com,August 7, 2001 TIP: Generate immediate excitement for your marketing plan by turning the plan’s unveiling into an important event. Set a date to present the plan to your staff and announce it a few weeks in advance. Keep the tone professional, but make it a notable occasion by sending invitations and serving special food. 6 Factors That Affect Your Marketing Plan >

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