National Clothesline

‘There are two kinds of failures: those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought” – Dr. Laurence Peter

In today’s challenging business climate, resources are limited, but expectations remain high. Every piece of marketing spending is being challenged as never before.

As drycleaners struggle to protect profits and cash flow in the slumping economy, marketing programs are put to the test. The familiar questions are: “Do we really need to be doing this?” and “What is the return on investment on this spending, anyway?”

The only thing standing between you and complete success in 2010 is a focused and strategically crafted marketing plan.

Businesses today are asking some interesting questions, like: What components must remain at the heart of a marketing plan? With budgets being tightened and a plethora of new marketing tactics entering the industry every moment — where should money be allocated?

Many cleaners are fascinated by the opportunities presented by the rise of social networks. In many cases, there is a blind rush to do something, with businesses owners calling for action whether it makes sense or not. “Our business needs a Facebook site! Let’s get that up and running as soon as possible” and “I’m the president of my business. I need to be Twittering. Our customers want to be engaged and connect.”

The single most important tool for navigating this challenging new world is your marketing plan. A good marketing plan sets the course for your business — it spells out the priorities and rationale. The focus is always on three things: objectives; strategic initiatives; and tactics.

In a world where information is almost infinite and tactical choices go on and on, your marketing plan can serve as the focal point. It is where you distill down everything you know about your business and turn it into a clear, simple plan of action.

Unfortunately, too many drycleaners fail to capitalize on the power of a marketing plan. Some never get around to creating a marketing plan at all. This is a huge missed opportunity. Others create ineffective marketing plans.

In my experience, I’ve found that many, and perhaps most, marketing plans don’t actually add much value because they sit on the owners desk, unread and unused.

When creating a marketing plan, the most important thing to remember is that it needs to be a clear, concise statement of what needs to be done to drive sales and build your business.

A marketing plan is not an analysis of customer needs or a review of everything that is known about a business. It is not even a S.W.O.T. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis.

A good plan spells out what should be done over the next year or 18 months. Most important, a strong plan is backed up by a compelling rationale. It is clear why the initiatives are important and why the tactics being employed are optimal.

In the end, it is not about a cool new way to collect customer data or the integration of Twitter into your communication plan. Rather it is what strategically must be included in your plan to achieve your overall objectives. It becomes clear why the spending is necessary and how the marketing investment will help achieve the objectives. It also becomes clear that your time doesn’t need to be spent Tweeting about the lunch menu.

If you do not currently have a clear and concise marketing plan for your business, contact me and I will help you get started.