Creating Your Promotion Calendar Begin by opening a new spreadsheet, such as Excel or any comparable software program. Starting with the first Monday of the month, identify the next fifty-two Mondays across the top. On the left side of the page, list any event you think may require your consideration. Divide the list into categories. When you are finished, organize activities within eachcategory by putting the earliest ones first. Add Comment Organize Your Marketing With A Promotional Calendar The busy season is near and as usual, marketing suppliers’ telephones begin to ring. The quiet season has come to an end and the business community begins to heat up. Business owners are panicking. They are waiting for the last minute to call and ask for assistance in the creation of an email, landing page, social media page, brochure, handout, or promotion. Trade shows are coming and seasonal specials are due. Business owners realize that the selling season is right around the corner but they do not have marketing and sales materials or even a plan in place. 8 Tactical Reasons For Developing Sales Promotions 1. Build Traffic At Point Of Sale. This could be at your store or office or a trade/consumer show. 2. Promote Trial Use of Products During Launch Phase. If you have a new product or service, you will need to create some excitement and to generate special interest in it. Sales Promotions There is another area of marketing known as sales promotion. This includes special promotional activities like trade programs to sell more products to your distribution system, consumer programs for sales to users, sampling, discounts, two-for-ones, bonus packs, premiums, contests, cross-company tie-ins, and coupons of all types. 5 Steps For Developing A Marketing Plan You can plan and operate your business more effectively with a well-written marketing plan. The five steps below will help you devise your own. If you can answer the questions and follow the recommendations, you've got the basis of a useful, effective marketing plan that will help you understand your company’s strengths and weaknesses, the market you're targeting, and the risks you face. 1. Get An Overview 2. Analyse The Market 3. Outline Your Marketing Strategies 4. Target Your Communications 5. Map Out Your Action Plan Five Heads Are Not Always Better Than One Five partners are embarking on a new venture to sell a skin treatment product one partner discovered in another country while on holiday. They’re dreaming about future riches but not asking themselves the hard questions that a good marketing plan would pose: Success Through Preparation And Shared Expenses A company specialized in renting and selling large screen TVs. A pioneer eight years ago, it now faced growing competition. Large flat screen TVs were readily available from many retailers including television specialty retailers and warehouse stores. Cruising To Success An international cruise retailer wanted to create a new division for group and incentive sales. But by the time she found room in her schedule to work on it, the biggest meeting and incentive travel show of the year was just sixty days away. It seemed too short a time to produce the brochures, ads, and forms she needed to collect leads and to make proposals. But a detailed marketing plan paved the way. Who Needs A Marketing Plan? Why add to your heavy workload by writing a forty-page marketing plan? Because it will help you run your business better. The plan will help you to analyze what you’re selling, to whom, and how. But that’s just the beginning. A marketing plan can help you develop the right image, keep and grow markets, and even point out the areas where you need to get more information. It also communicates your vision of the company to your employees. 11 Marketing Tips For Reviving Your Business 1. Seek Outside Help. Seek objective, outside professional help. If you do the marketing yourself, you will likely take your eye off the day-to-day running of the business, cause unnecessary anxiety, and either keep your business where it is or hurt it further. 2. Rethink Your Business. Think again about current customers, competition, industry changes, and technology. Even rethink the type of business you are in. Many successful businesses have managed to stay successful by moving with the times. They saw that the needs of their customers were changing and acted accordingly. |   Eric Gilboord is the Founder and CEO of Warren Business Development Center Inc. We
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