How to read each block
Each block answers one question. Here is the question, and what a weak answer looks like, so you can spot it in any plan.
Where the growth is
The question: which buyers, places or products should get our effort first? In the sample, the answer is new office floors and ten busy dealers. It also says what to leave alone, which matters as much.
A weak version: "All businesses in India." A plan that targets everyone gives the team nothing to say no to.
What to say
The question: what one thing should a buyer remember about us, and what proves it? The sample gives one line to test and a list of proof to collect. A line with no proof is only a claim.
A weak version: "Quality products at fair prices." Every competitor says the same, and a buyer cannot check it.
Which channels, which job
The question: where will we spend effort, and what is each place for? Search catches people who are ready. A listing and a WhatsApp reply turn interest into a visit. Dealer displays keep the name close to home.
A weak version: "Be active on all social platforms." No channel has a job, so none can be judged.
A starting budget
The question: how should the first quarter's money be split so we can learn fast? The sample uses percentages, so it works for any size of budget. Our guide on how to split a marketing budget gives more ways to think about it.
A weak version: one big number with no split, or the whole budget spent in week one. Keep some back for what works.
Quick wins
The question: what can we fix this month, at low cost, that makes every later rupee work harder? In most firms these are tracking, the website, search listings and follow-up.
A weak version: a list of big projects that take six months. A quick win is small and done in days. A better quote form raises the conversion rate, which is the share of visitors who enquire, without any new spend on ads.
What to measure
The question: which few numbers tell us if the plan is working? The sample picks enquiries, the share that fit, meetings booked, speed of quotes and cost per qualified lead. Cost per qualified lead means what you pay, on average, for one enquiry that can really buy.
A weak version: likes, followers and views. They are easy to count and say little about orders.
What we look at before we write it
The sample is neat because a lot of homework sits behind it. Before a strategist writes your plan, the team looks at four things.
- Your website: what a buyer sees, how fast it opens on a phone, and how easy it is to enquire.
- Search demand in your category: what buyers type into Google, and how many of them do it.
- Your competitors: what they say, where they show up and what they offer.
- The channels you use today: what you spend, what comes back and what is not counted.
The more you tell us about your buyers, your dealers and what you have tried, the sharper the plan. The call is where that happens.
What the plan is not
- It is not a quote. It has no price of ours in it, and it does not ask you to sign.
- It is not a promise of results. Nobody can honestly promise rankings, leads or sales, and a plan that does is a red flag.
- It comes with no obligation. You can say thank you and stop there.
- It is yours to keep. Use it with your own team, with another agency, or talk to us about running it.
If you want a deeper look, such as a full review of your numbers, that is a different job and is quoted separately. See our marketing audit and growth plan page.
Mistakes that make a plan useless
- Ten priorities. If everything comes first, nothing does. Name one first move.
- No starting numbers. Without today's enquiries and cost, you cannot say later if anything changed.
- Results written as facts. A plan holds targets. Results come later and come from your own records.
- Channels with no job. "Social media" is a place, not a job. Say what it is for.
- No money for follow-up. Paying for enquiries and then calling back after two days wastes the spend.
- Copying a competitor's plan. Their buyers, margins and dealers are different from yours.
- Writing it once and filing it. Review it every month and change it when the numbers say so.
Many of these show up in a firm's business-to-business marketing when the sales team and the marketing team never compare notes. Our guide on marketing strategy explains how to choose the buyers first.
