Any Path Will Not Do When It Comes To Planning
04/20/2005
"If you don't know where you're going, any path will take you there." Theodore Levitt For marketers that has special meaning. Experience has taught us that without a plan our efforts fall short; the path we choose by chance, rather than strategy, may cause more harm than good to our brands.
As important, or perhaps more important, than the plan itself, is the process of planning. Here's a good one from Dwight Eisenhower - "Plans are nothing; planning is everything."
Lynn Dolan, ASG Software Solutions, offers a nice list of justifications that will help you respond if your boss just doesn't "get it" and questions - "Why invest resources planning?"
- Caputures buiness goals on paper
- Becomes our departmental roadmap
- Allows us to focus and prioritize
- Let's us allocate resources (budget and personnel)
- Establishes our value in the organization
- Tracks costs
- Measures our success
- Drives revenue
Found this comprehensive guide on How To Write A Marketing Plan. If that doesn't work or seems too overwhelming, I'm passing a long this pieces of advise given to me by a smart marketing guy - Just write in down. Even if your plan is on a paper napkin. The act of puting thoughts to paper (or computer screen) serves to focus actions.
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