12 years ago when we started our company, I thought that branding, marketing and selling were something that someone else would handle. Sure as the president of the company I needed to set direction, but the icky parts were going to be done by someone else and I could focus on the project work for clients; you know, "delegate".
Today I know deep down in my heart that branding, marketing and selling are your business. Building a business means dealing with those subjects head-on. You can delegate the work, but you should not ever delegate the strategy (or the supporting corporate mission, core values, culture and vision). As Chet Holmes states in his book, "The Ultimate Sales Machine", you need "pig-headed discipline" to make sure you stay the course. If you do the tail will end up wagging the dog (actually there will be multiple tails wagging the dog).
This does not mean you can't involve your team and delegate and let your team run with stuff. It just means that consistency of purpose has to come from the top.
In reality I've come to really enjoy Branding, Marketing and Selling. Why the about face?
You get to tell a story. You get to put on a show. You get to build relationships. You get to create an awesome business.
Your business will not matter if nobody knows about it or buys from you.
Our Marketing Plan
Over the past few years I've learned a lot about marketing, online marketing, search engines, paid search, social media, etc. I've read books by the experts and even engaged with advisers that can show me how they got to success and avoid some of the pitfalls (mentoring and coaching).
We have recently launched our Manifast product and I put together a diagram to better understand how everything fits together.
I should disclose that I like technical stuff and studied engineering in university. So when I say this is the simplified version of something, it truly is.
So here is the simplified version of all the components to our marketing plan for Manifast.
Simplified Marketing Plan for Manifast
I'm not at all worried about anyone stealing this or using it against me. You see it is not the plan that matters. It is actually a pretty generic and obvious plan.
What really matters is what you do with the plan. How you implement it. How you engage with people in the real world.
The story you and your brand lives by.
Marketing your product in the real world is both complex and simple.
Next Steps
From this diagram our action steps become crystal clear to me. We need to pick the important parts and get them done. One at a time, get them done. Build momentum over time. Reach the tipping point.
We won't try to do everything at once. I only put this diagram together so we could understand how all the pieces go together for our situation.
You need to decide what your plan is and then do the work (or delegate it). Just make sure you don't delegate and disappear. You won't like what you become.
Questions: Is your situation this complex? How do you plan and execute your marketing strategy? Please leave a comment below.
