AboutLeo Lingham Expertise In Managing a business, I can cover all aspects of running
a business--business planning, business development, business auditing, business communication, operation management, human
resources management , training, etc.
Experience 18 years of working management experience covering such areas
as business planning, business development, strategic planning,
marketing, management services, personnel administration.
PLUS
24 years of management consulting which includes business planning, strategic planning, marketing, product management, training, business coaching etc.
Question Hi, I need to write a plan to increase brand awareness and increase sales through our website. Would you have a sample web marketing plan or be able to advise what should be included in a comprehensive plan to be presentated to a board and globally orientated please? Thankyou for your help.
Answer MARK,
MY APOLOGY FOR THE DELAY, DUE TO MY WORKLOAD.
HERE IS SOME USEFUL MATERIALS.
REGARDS
LEO LINGHAM
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WEBSITE MARKETING PLAN.
Cover Sheet [Fill in name, address, phone, marketing team members (title, address, phone), date marketing
plan prepared, who prepared, version/copy number (if more than one).]
Part 1: Executive Summary
Answer “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” and “how” with respect to marketing objectives and strategies;
forecasts; marketing and product finances; etc. The Executive Summary should be done last, after all marketing
plan analysis and details have been completed.
Part 2: Industry Analyses
This is an overview of the industry and key insights into competitors, suppliers, the regulatory environment,
customers and the company's place within the industry.
SWOT Analysis: Detail the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in industry.
Often, marketing strategy opportunities arise as a result of a changing business environment. As you study your competitors, be on the lookout for these opportunities. Some situations that could represent opportunities for a company include, but are certainly not limited to:
* New technology is created, but the competition has been unable to deliver acceptable customer service.
* A customer segment is becoming more predominant, but their specific needs are not being fully met by your competitors.
* A customer, competitor, or supplier goes out of business or merges with another company.
Once you develop your marketing strategies, you are more able to complete a strategy based marketing plan that takes into account the overall business environment.
Porter's 5 Forces analysis: Analyze the dynamics between and activities of current and future
competitors; your own company; substitutes for the products your company markets; the industry
suppliers; and customers. Do not forget to factor in regulatory issues.
When developing your Website marketing strategies, for example, you can identify the "forces" as:
Competitors: Those sites that offer the same product, service, or information as your site.
Potential new entrants: Your site-less off-line competitors as well as new companies entering the industry via a Website.
Customers: Visitors and potential visitors to your Website and your competitors’ sites.
Suppliers: Those companies that supply you with the products (or parts if you are a manufacturer) and/or services offered on your site. Other suppliers are the Web hosting, software, and other vendors that supply Web-enabling technology.
Substitutes: Other means and sources for the same products, services, or information as your Website provides.
Using these definitions for the five forces, you can get a clearer picture of the business environment in which your Website competes. Be aware, however, this is not a true Five Forces analysis.
Part 3: Products and Corresponding Target Markets
Here, describe your products and your target customers for each. For each product or brand, include:
- Target market demographics such as income levels; interests; activities; living environments; other
geographic descriptions; psychological mindsets; political affiliations; family situations; age ranges;
tastes; etc.
- Industry or societal trends that affect your customers.
- Your target customers' needs and wants, and corresponding benefits received from products.
1.Part 4: Marketing Strategy
Include overall marketing objectives and mission statement in this section, and for each product address:
- The product's positioning relative to competitors and in the eyes of target customers.
- The general strategies you will use to reach objectives and fulfill the mission statement.
- The product's marketing mix, including specific marketing programs. Address all of the "four P's":
- The products themselves and any related changes, improvements, and issues.
- Pricing strategies for each product.
- Distribution channels (the various ways each product reaches customers and consumers).
- Promotional activities, including public relations, Internet marketing and advertising, offline
advertising, viral programs and other marketing programs you will be executing.
Part 5: Measurements
Build success metrics into each marketing program, including intermediate measures, and how you will use
them to monitor progress and adjust execution when applicable.
Part 6: Forecasts and Financial Analyses
Explain the size of your target markets, market shares and growth projections by month. Also include financial
analyses:
- Pro-forma profit and loss statements (P&L's), which detail:
- sales units and dollar forecasts
- cost of goods
- marketing budgets
- fixed overhead and variable expense projections
- other expenses
- profit margins
- Breakeven analysis, showing units and dollars needed to make a profit for each marketing program
(or new or changed product).
- "What-if" scenarios (sensitivity analyses) showing what happens if forecasts and profit margins are
lower or higher than expected.
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Sample Marketing Plan
Goals of This Sample Marketing Plan
In one year:
Increase subscribers to The Marketing Minute tenfold
Increase web site traffic tenfold
Quadruple overall revenues (at least), with half the income from product sales and half from services
Buy my dream house by the end of the year
Overall Strategy for This Sample Marketing Plan
I will increase traffic and multiply revenues through:
Improving search engine rankings
Pursuing publicity
Sending direct mail
Creating new products
Posting content around the Web
Soliciting links
Participating in discussion groups
Improving my Web site and infrastructure
Advertising
Target Audiences
Although this marketing plan focuses on Internet marketing techniques, I shall maintain as my primary focus organizations and individuals that do business both offline and online and who want to know how to get better results from their marketing. These include solo professionals, professional firms and small to medium-sized businesses in a wide variety of industries. Preferred clients and customers have been in operation for at least five years and have a decent budget for marketing.
Budget Priorities
I have set aside a few thousand dollars for investing in search engine listings, publicity, direct mail and infrastructure. Monies for advertising will come out of increased revenues earned from this plan's marketing activities.
Time Span
One year [just the first four months are presented here].
Scope
International.
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Month-by-month Activities
Month 1 of the Sample Marketing Plan
Search engines. Since I know very little about how search engines work, this month I need to concentrate on learning and applying what I've learned to increase the amount and quality of traffic coming to my site from search engines. Specific activities for this month include:
Obtain program for easily monitoring Web traffic and study where my traffic has been coming from.
Learn as much as I can about getting listed in search engines and writing/designing/coding pages to get pages ranked high in searches.
Study which phrases relevant to my products and services are most searched upon.
Change pages and create new pages at my site in accordance with what I've learned.
Register pages and pay for listings if that's appropriate.
Learn how to optimize press releases so they will be found through search engines.
Publicity. I haven't had an organized publicity program in place for a while, so I need to begin with gathering some of the necessary ingredients. Then the general plan involves issuing at least one press release per month. This month:
Obtain relevant PR contact information from Bacon's at the public library.
Use online media directories such as those listed HERE to compile a fuller list of targets for PR.
Distribute at least one press release this month designed to produce more web site traffic and more Marketing Minute subscribers, using the techniques described HERE.
Direct mail. I obtained my first 500 Marketing Minute subscribers through postcards, so I should resume this method of inviting people to get a marketing tip from me every week by e-mail. Postcard recipients include business reporters and editors as well as individuals whom I have good reason to believe are likely clients. This month:
Send Webcards of the Marketing Minute to business editors to encourage them to subscribe.
Product development. I have tons of material that was created for another medium or another purpose that can be converted into salable products, both tangible and electronic, including material originally sold to other parties, with the rights having reverted to me for one reason or another. This month:
Format course #1 for which rights have reverted so it can be nicely printed as a manual, and begin marketing it.
Produce a printed version of one of my audiotapes to sell as a separate product.
Posting content. This item refers to posting material by me at article sites inviting contributions, where I'm rewarded through increased traffic, links and more book sales. This month:
Convert this month's press release into an article and post at free content sites.
Post Internet Marketing article #1 (previously written) at free content sites.
Links. Inbound links not only bring appropriate traffic to one's site but also improve rankings in certain search engines, such as Google. This month:
Find informational sites on writing, on small business and on marketing and submit pages from my site as suggested links.
Discussion groups. I already belong to and participate in about six discussion lists (topical discussions carried on among subscribers by e-mail). I serve as moderator of one of these, I-Content. Of course, there are lots more where I can have an influence and attract subscribers, visitors and clients. This month:
Post something related to this month's new product in each of my regular discussion haunts.
Web site and infrastructure. A web site is an ever-evolving entity. I'm constantly changing, adding to and improving mine. This month:
Make sure every article and feature at my site contains appropriate keyword metatags, which help for some search engines' rankings.
Revise or remove outdated information.
Create and install "e-mail a friend about this page" utility.
Ponder changes I could make to convert more visitors to buyers.
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Month 2 of the Sample Marketing Plan
Search engines. This month:
Continue to monitor the amount of daily traffic, which search engines are sending me visitors and which keyword phrases are bringing people to my site.
Find answers for aspects of the search engine process that I don't understand and make changes accordingly.
Publicity. This month:
Decide on 6-12 industries to target for the rest of this year and compile PR contact lists for each niche.
Distribute at least one press release this month designed to produce more Web site traffic and more Marketing Minute subscribers.
Direct mail.
Send Webcards of The Marketing Minute to executive directors of professional organizations for selected niche markets.
Product development. So far I haven't sold any directly downloadable products. It's time! This month:
Obtain program for converting material into PDF files.
Make arrangements for posting downloadable products for sale.
Convert existing special reports into downloadable products and begin selling them.
Find licensee for course #2 for which rights have reverted and seal the deal.
Persuade appropriate site owners to sell course #1 from their site in exchange for a commission.
Convert two more audiotapes into downloadable special reports and begin selling them.
Ask Marketing Minute subscribers if they want to place bulk orders for a printed book of past columns, as gifts for their clients.
Posting content. This month:
Convert this month's press release into an article and post at free content sites.
Post Internet Marketing article #2 at free content sites.
Add this fall's seminars to free seminar listing sites.
Links. This month:
Using linkpopularity.com, follow the links for popular sites similar to mine and submit pages from my site to those sites as suggested links.
Discussion groups. This month:
Research the most active discussion boards for sales, marketing, publicity, Internet marketing and other relevant topics and visit the top half dozen or dozen once a week to participate.
Subscribe to two new discussion lists and participate regularly on my favorite lists in a way that helps promote my newly released products.
Web site and infrastructure. This month:
Add excerpts or long explanatory copy for products and services that don't yet have that.
Make changes in the wording of key pages to attract traffic on relevant keywords that I have totally missed. (E.g., I'm doing very well on "freelance writing" and terribly on "magazine writing.")
Check outbound links for accuracy and remove dead links.
Change or add to the sample makeovers/upgrades at my site.
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Month 3 of the Sample Marketing Plan
Search engines. This month:
Continue to monitor the amount of daily traffic, which search engines are sending me visitors and which keyword phrases are bringing people to my site.
Register new pages or features in the free search engines and directories.
Research appropriate keywords for promoting new products, services or informational pages.
Publicity. This month:
Distribute at least one press release this month designed to produce more web site traffic and more Marketing Minute subscribers, customized for each of the target niches.
Distribute at least one press release tied to the release of my web marketing makeover book at the end of this month.
Brainstorm with web marketing makeover book's publicist on ideas she can help implement.
Direct mail. This month:
Send Marketing Minute postcards to my old, not-used-in-two-years mailing list.
Product development. This month:
Convert two more audiotapes into downloadable special reports and begin selling them.
Lay out and prepare for printing the anthology of Marketing Minute columns; send to printer.
Create and polish viral marketing tool and post at my Web site.
Posting content. This month:
Convert this month's press releases into articles and post at free content sites.
Post Internet Marketing article #3 at free content sites.
Links. This month:
Follow the links for intriguing sites I've recently come across and submit pages from my site to those sites as suggested links.
Discussion groups. This month:
Visit the top half dozen or dozen discussion boards once a week to participate.
Subscribe to two new discussion lists and participate regularly on my favorite lists in a way that helps promote my newly released products and services.
Web site and infrastructure. This month:
Complete and launch new web site on related topic.
Offer new consulting services related to the new web site.
Consider design or technical improvements to boost my site's perceived professionalism.
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Month 4 of the Sample Marketing Plan
Search engines. This month:
Register newly launched Web site in major search engines.
Continue to monitor the amount of daily traffic, which search engines are sending me visitors and which keyword phrases are bringing people to my site.
Find answers for aspects of the search engine process that I don't understand and make changes accordingly.
Publicity. This month:
Distribute at least one press release this month promoting my newly launched Web site, customized for appropriate target niches.
Distribute at least one press release tied to the release of the second edition of my $500/Year Internet marketing book at the end of this month.
Brainstorm with $500/Year Internet marketing book's publicist on ideas she can help implement.
Distribute at least one press release this month promoting the viral marketing tool introduced last month.
Direct mail. This month:
Send Marketing Minute postcards to speakers bureaus.
Product development. This month:
Convert remaining audiotapes into downloadable special reports and begin selling them.
Posting content. This month:
Convert this month's press releases into articles and post at free content sites.
Post Internet Marketing article #4 at free content sites.
Links. This month:
Solicit links for new web site.
Discussion groups. This month:
Visit the top half dozen or dozen discussion boards once a week to participate.
Subscribe to two new discussion lists and participate regularly on my favorite lists in a way that helps promote my newly released products.
Web site and infrastructure. This month:
Check outbound links for accuracy and remove dead links.
Update pages at my site to tie into my two books coming out this fall.
Update this marketing plan to incorporate new ideas and address unexpected obstacles.
If Marketing Minute subscriptions have increased as sharply as planned, investigate moving to a new subscription service that's cost-effective for that many subscribers, select a vendor and implement the move.
Advertising. This month:
If revenues have increased as anticipated, investigate online and offline advertising venues for promoting my high-profit products and services.
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SIMILAR APPROACH FOR THE BALANCE 8 MONTHS.
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