How to Build a Small Business Marketing Plan
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We’re nearing the start of a new calendar year, and this means it’s the perfect time to reassess your marketing strategy for the coming year. If your strategy so far can best be described as “winging it”, don’t worry — you are not alone.
It can be hard to know where to start with your overall marketing approach, but as with most things it is usually best to map out a high level plan for what you want to achieve in the coming year. Even if you have never written one down, you likely have a sense of how you want to market your business.
Now it’s time to write it down! Did you know that a study found that you are 42% more likely to reach your goals if you write them down? (Full Focus) That’s way too large of a benefit to risk not giving it a try.
For those feeling overwhelmed, we’ve created a guide to help you create a marketing plan that works for your business in four basic steps
Step 1: List Your Goals for the Year & Who Can Help Make it Happen
There are goals — the things you want to accomplish, and then there are KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) — the measurable ways that you will know if you have achieved your goals. For example, if one of your goals is to increase revenue by 25%, the KPI associated with that is the dollar amount your business generates.
As you start thinking about your goals, consider your target customers or clients and their needs. How can you better serve them? Are there products or services that they have explicitly requested? Are there products or services that might help answer questions they ask?
If you are unsure about your target audiences, we’d love to chat about a content strategy. A content strategy helps you gain clarity around your audiences, their needs and their goals. (LEARN MORE)
Next, you will want to create a list of all the people whose help you’ll need to reach these goals — whether that’s employees, contractors, advertising platforms, podcasts, or other folks in your extended network. You can’t generate revenue, brand awareness or brand affinity without customers, so you’ll have to think about the places you’ll reach those people.
Step 2: Set a Budget
Your marketing budget should take into consideration your overall business revenue and your operating costs. You don’t want to spend so much on marketing that your business loses money.
First, consider your operational costs. These are things like administrative software, accounting or legal services, taxes and business licenses and fees. Then, consider how much revenue your business will generate. Then, taking what is left over after you calculate revenue-operating costs, allocate a percentage of that money to marketing. What you spend should be proportional to your bottom line.
Feeling confused? WE FEEL YOU. Talk to a bookkeeper or accountant if you have questions. We work with the wonderful team at Counting Shells LLC in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Step 3: List Out Your Marketing Deliverables & Expenses
Consider all of the facets of marketing — branding, website, social media, email marketing, giveaways, etc. Which of these will you be activating in the new year?
If you just went through a rebrand, then you probably don’t need to consider a visual brand identity, but it might be time for some website updates. All of these things require time and money, so be thorough and thoughtful when you are thinking about how you’ll allocate marketing dollars.
While none of these things are required to market your business, it might be worth considering if any of these things would help you reach your goals, and factor in the cost of executing on each.
Pro Tip: Don’t forget to factor in the cost of your own time! The cost to outsource these things, if you choose to do so, might actually end up saving you money in the long run.
Brand Identity
You can make a great first impression on new customers with compelling branding that is true to you and what you offer. Branding is much more than just your logo, though. Many different components come together to make up your overall brand.
Naming & Positioning - For when you don’t even know what to call the thing yet!
Logo & Visual Identity - In addition to a logo and favicon, this includes things like color palette and fonts.
Tone & Voice Guide - A guide for how to communicate consistently to your target market is especially helpful if someone else is writing copy for your business.
Content Strategy - A content strategy is a structure that allows you to create effective content marketing that helps you reach your business goals by understanding broader trends and your audience’s needs.
Marketing Photos and Headshots
Average Branding Spending:
$5,000 - $20,000 annually (LoudBird Marketing)
Our Services Start At:
$1,500 (LEARN MORE)
Website
While having a website isn’t required to run a successful business, it can help you have control over how your brand and business are being represented online and can serve as another source of revenue. That said, there are many things to factor into your marketing plan when it comes to your website.
Initial Site Design & Build - The cost and complexity of a new site build will depend on the website platform you choose and the features you need on your site.
Hosting & Maintenance - If your site is built in WordPress, you may need to pay for hosting separately and will have to be aware of updates to any plug-ins or apps that you’re utilizing. Remember, all website will require some amount of maintenance and upkeep!
Content Updates - Be sure to update your website copy as your products and services change over time.
SEO Improvements & Blogging - Keyword-focused blog posts can be a great tool for marketing your business and can increase your chances of being ranked higher in search engines results.
Average Website Spending:
$439 - $365,475 per year due to the wide range of complexities (Hubspot)
Our Services Start at:
$500 per month (LEARN MORE)
Social Media
Marketing on social media has the potential to be incredibly effective. There are many different ways to approach posting on social platforms, but here are some things we want our clients to consider when planning for the coming year.
Coaching & Consulting - If you don’t feel confident with your skills on social media, you can hire a coach or consultant to talk strategy and trends, as well as to discuss potential content ideas.
Content Creation - Making content takes time! In addition to your own time spent creating content, consider the cost of hiring help to make content or the cost of using tools like Canva or CapCut.
Scheduling - Factor in the time to schedule any planned content on your social channels, as well as the cost of any scheduling tools.
Community Management - A community manager can be useful to help moderate your accounts, respond to comments and DMs, and to serve as an escalation path for customer service issues.
Average Social Cost:
$500 - $5,000 per month for small businesses (Sprout Social)
Our Services Start at:
$325 per month (LEARN MORE)
Email Marketing
Your email contacts are usually people who are already engaged with your brand, and therefore are much more likely to respond to your marketing efforts. If you want to make email marketing a bigger part of your plan for the coming year, be sure to consider the following:
Email Addresses - Be aware of the cost of any custom email addresses you wish to use for sending emails to customers and clients.
Email Marketing Platform - We like Mailchimp, Flodesk, Constant Contact, or MailerLite.
Email Content Creation and Scheduling - Your time is costly, so be aware of how long it will take you to create and schedule your email content.
Lead Magnets - These are resources that you provide for free in exchange for collecting contact information and generating a new lead for your business.
Average Email Marketing Cost:
$200 - $900 a month (Omnisend)
Our Services Start at:
$750 per month (LEARN MORE)
Branded Promotional Merch
Branded promotional products can serve as thank you gifts for your clients, but they also have a high impact when it comes to marketing your business and increasing your brand awareness.
“Globally, 85% of people who are given a promotional item will remember the advertiser that gave it to them,” according to SwagDrop. If people continue to wear or use the product, you may also see the benefits of this marketing approach for years to come as more and more folks are exposed to your branding.
Common promotional merch includes:
T-Shirts or Outerwear
Tote Bags
Hats and Headwear
Cups and Drinkware
Pens and Writing Instruments
Giveaways
Giveaways or Sweepstakes can be incredible tools to build your contact list, to provide your products directly to your customers, and a great way to test out new ideas and services.
Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as just posting about the giveaway on your Instagram. If you’re offering up a giveaway or sweepstakes, be sure to have a legal policy for it to protect you and your business.
We recommend checking out our friends at LegallySet for small business legal templates.
Advertising & Sponsorships
While our team here at VVITCH is primarily focused on the power of organic content marketing, paid advertising is certainly effective at expanding your brand awareness and connecting you to the right people. If you’re planning to advertise your business this coming year, consider the following:
Cost of Ad Collateral - You may be able to DIY or you might want to hire a graphic designer to create ad materials for your business.
Cost of Ad Placement - This could be on social media, in print or digital publications, on billboard or other “Out-Of-Home” advertising placements, in radio or TV, or on search engines.
Sponsorships of Events or Conferences - Depending on your audience, attending conferences, events, or conventions can be helpful to connect you with the right clientele.
Average Advertising Spend:
Small businesses typically spend roughly 10% of their revenue on advertising.
Step 4: Schedule Times to Review the Plan’s Success & Pivot If Needed
As with any strategy, testing is critical. Make sure to track the appropriate numbers throughout the year so that you are able to determine whether your plan is successful and you are reaching your goals. Be prepared for the plan to change overtime, as we clearly can’t predict the future or what the world will throw at us. Setting up calendar reminders is a great way to ensure that you still remember what you planned once June rolls around.
As for timing, we recommend spending October-December planning for the upcoming year, and plan to check in with how successful it has been each quarter throughout the year. Again, we recommend you set that calendar reminder right now or you will never remember!
If you’re still confused and need help knowing how to prioritize your marketing budget, feel free to reach out to us for a free consultation and we can talk you through recommendations based on your goals.
Meet the Authors:
Jen Siomacco - Founder and UX Designer
Jen has worked in technology, marketing, and publishing for ten years. After years as a CX/UX designer in the corporate world, Jen co-owned an independent wedding magazine prior to starting VVITCH Digital Agency. Now, after years in both the corporate and entrepreneurial worlds, they are committed to helping small businesses grow into revolutionary brands.
Kate Schaefer - VVITCH Digital Brand and Marketing Strategist
Kate has worked in digital marketing and publishing for seven years. In 2013, she identified a hole in the wedding market and started H&H Weddings, a wedding resource specifically for the LGBTQ+ community.
Kate believes every business should thrive and is dedicated to helping marginalized folx even the financial playing field because capitalism is a bitch.
