A planned, organized Internet marketing campaign with rotation through a variety of targeted sites, directories and venues is not hard to coordinate, does not need to cost a great deal of money and can generate traffic and sales faster than search engine submissions alone. It takes a bit of research and a solid knowledge of your target customer, but you can plan and implement a simple marketing campaign in the space of a dedicated day. *      It illustrates the dovetailing of different avenues of marketing, which is a hallmark of a successful, skillful marketing plan. *      It should give you new ideas for making your own enterprise more successful on the Web. *      It demonstrates that with a detailed marketing plan, you do a lot of disciplined creative thinking once (or hire someone like me to do it for you) and then know every month what steps to take  to remain on track. Making progress is easier because you know what to do as time moves along without having to continually ponder, “What now?”As with any marketing plan, the online plan includes developing strategies and tactics (also called action plans) that, when implemented, will help you reach your marketing goals. An objective, strategy, and tactic are each progressively narrower in scope:The objective addresses the “big picture”. In general terms, your objective answers the question “How will I overcome my main marketing challenge(s)?” If your company’s main site-related challenge is figuring out how to use your Website to help build client business, for example, an objective for your online marketing plan could be “To enhance online client service as well as build site awareness and interest with clients.”A marketing strategy supports your objective. The strategy defines general approaches you will take to meet your objective. For example, strategies to support the above objective could include 1) improve online communication, information, and education, 2) build awareness of and interest in your company on the Internet, and 3) communicate the Website’s existence and advantages to existing clients.A marketing tactic is where the action takes place. Also called marketing programs or action plans, they are the things you will do to bring each marketing strategy to life. Tactics for strategy 2 in the above example (improve online communication, information, and education) could include 1) sharing experience and observations in your industry through participation in discussion boards, 2) offering an email newsletter, and 3) listing/submitting your site to targeted search engines and directories.By implementing marketing programs that are consistent with your site objective(s) and marketing strategies you improve your chance of business success.Successful holiday Internet marketing campaigns are within the reach of any business, no matter what your budget. By following these basic marketing plan steps and committing to the follow-through, you can create a cost effective marketing campaign with a substantial return on investment.

Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000167 EndHTML:0000004091 StartFragment:0000000457 EndFragment:0000004075

Creating the Marketing Plan

“Marketing plan, what marketing plan”? All too often, this is the response I get when I begin working with our clients to improve their marketing efforts. It has been said that those who fail to plan, better plan to fail. I strongly suggest that you begin this entire process by laying out the foundation for a 12 month marketing plan. Don’t worry, it’s not too late to begin on February 1 if you are a procrastinator. Also, your plan doesn’t have to include every little detail, it just needs to be written down so that the organization has a plan to follow each month to collectively row in the same direction. The plan should also be tied to your budget, representing roughly 6-8% of your gross annual rental income. It then needs to be tracked monthly for effectiveness and altered accordingly. I also recommend that you adopt a consistent theme such as being the market leader, or lowest cost provider (if you choose). There should also be specific goals, such as 92% occupancy, for example, and specific milestones once you raise occupancy by 3-5% increments. Tracking can be easily accomplished with your Property Management Software. I would also recommend involving your managers in the creative process and reward them when the mutual goals are achieved. In addition, don’t forget to account for the seasonality of the business when forecasting occupancy on a month by month basis.

Then, it’s time to put the creative wheels in motion and begin looking at ways to keep the clients we have, and to constantly, and consistently, bring in more. Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet or magic wand. We employ the shotgun approach, utilizing approximately 60 different strategies throughout the course of the year across all our facilities to keep the plan fresh and to hopefully, eventually, hit the hot button for those clients we were unable to convert the previous month. Simply matching what the “Big Guys” are doing in your market isn’t going to cut it. You need to be more nimble, creative, and smarter than they are. We’re utilizing many new tools of the marketing trade such as videos on our websites and changing the content monthly to match the current promotion. We’re placing ads on Craigslist, and cross promoting our ancillary profit centers to drive more door swings. And we are constantly seeking out more and new avenues for reaching the vast pool of clients who are unaware of us, and educating them on the benefits of utilizing Self Storage for their business. And then we’re testing, testing, and testing to measure the success of each program in every market we serve to see what converts the best, and whether that program should be used again, or not.

Let’s not forget folks, we’re not in the Storage Business – Each individual Self Storage Operator or Manager is in the MARKETING BUSINESS for our own company or the company we work for. Our every action throughout the day should revolve around the marketing of our facility and how to pack it full of clients – and Keep it that way!

Cheers to a Successful 2010!

When selecting an internet marketing plan, it is best to find a system that has your best interests at heart. The marketing plan should provide you with training and support, market materials and a proven track record. The Maverick Money Makers club has all of these and more. It provides a comprehensive step-by-step video tutorial approach that instructs all the club members on how to achieve the highest level results in the shortest period of time.  Here are five ways that the average guy can benefit from a proven online marketing plan.

1. Websites – With the Maverick Money Makers club you are provided with your own high converting, ready to market, keyword focused versions of the same websites that the leading online marketing professional is using. This feature is a time and money saver for the average marketer. Having to create your own website from scratch can be a challenge. Not to mention, costly and time consuming. Isn’t your time and money way too valuable to waste on minimal tasks like that? Let the experts help you and benefit from an internet marketing plan that is guaranteed to bring you success.

2. Marketing Materials – Marketing materials are vital to any business, online or offline. When you take advantage of an internet marketing plan that provides proven marketing materials, your business is set to succeed. You get full use/reprint rights to copyrighted ads, postcards, sales letters, order forms and many other marketing tools that sell the products for you. Proven marketing materials mean better, more qualified leads to help you generate unlimited profits.  If you are involved with the proper club, these materials, along with the promotion strategies, are handed to you, leaving you with very little chance of failure.

3. Training and Support – One hour phone and webinar training sessions. You will be given top shelf information into the world of the Maverick Money Makers club and internet marketing from the top experts in the company. Where else would you want to get your information? The top experts have a tried and true system to share with you to help you build your online business and leverage the internet marketing plan.  This, my friend, is a gold mine.  Having access to the guru’s will ensure that all of your trial and error practices that led you to failure in the past, will no longer hinder you.  I know how bad that can be.

4. Added Income – Added income can allow you to save for retirement, vacation, college, new furniture or just a rainy day. Using the proven internet marketing plan you could be cashing weekly checks in the amounts of $5,000, $10,000, $25,000 and more. Let’s face it, added income can bring greater opportunities and allow you to live a better lifestyle.  Who couldn’t use extra money these days?  Following the correct strategies, will guarantee your recurring added income.

5. Decrease in Overhead – Some home based businesses fail because you are required to have an inventory. Holding inventory costs money upfront. You must also be sure to rotate the inventory to assure quality and take yearly inventory counts to give to your accountant to figure into your tax liability. Carrying inventory can cost you time and money. Because of the proven methods of the Maverick Money Makers club and internet marketing plan, overhead costs are kept to a minimum; putting more money in your pocket.  In fact, this exclusive club can actually show you a way where you can generate revenue without any ad spend whatsoever.  Pretty nice, correct?

Customized websites, access to proven marketing materials to sell the products for you, training and support to guide you as you build your business, added income to enjoy the good things in life and decreased overhead vs. other home based businesses are all ways to benefit from an internet marketing plan.

Do you see how simple it is to have success on the web when the proper internet marketing plan is in place?

If you’re thinking of going into online marketing as a way to exploit the many money-making possibilities that can be found on the Internet, you will need to do through research to find the best way to reach your goal. Online marketing is a constantly evolving process, and you will need to come up with a good Internet marketing plan which will include a list of your goals and how you want to go about achieving them.Marketing your own company, products or services online is no different from doing so offline. The only difference is the start up costs involved. When you begin work on a marketing plan or plan to build your company offline, you will need to be prepared with a huge budget that can run into the millions of dollars. With an online business, on the other hand, if you are lucky enough to start on the right foot with an ideal program, you can start bringing in a good deal of money in a couple of months without having to spend more than a hundred dollars.Promoting products and services online can feel a bit overwhelming the first time. This is especially true if you don’t have any idea where to start first. By joining a reputable program that will provide you with the education you need, train you in the best way possible, and keep you updated on all the latest information in the world of online marketing, you’ll be able to keep your footing in an ever-evolving environment. You’ll learn all the ins and outs of search engine optimization (SEO), article marketing, online press releases, Google Adsense, and a host of other tools you can harness to hook your target demographic. A good program will even help you thresh out a sound online marketing plan to help you get on track in the most ideal way possible without your having to shell out a great deal of money.Having a good Internet marketing plan is the best way to go to help you implement your own online marketing business. With this plan, you can implement your strategies in the right order and apply many marketing tactics to stay one step ahead of your competitors. With a solid and feasible online marketing plan on your plate, you’re all set to go.While laying down your marketing plan isn’t the world’s most difficult thing to do, it isn’t a piece of cake, either. You’ll need to draw down all the right moves to help you reach your goals. Once you have jotted down all your objectives for your marketing business, you need to list down all the steps you need to take to reach them one by one.Start by making a list of your goals. Make sure the goals you want to achieve are reasonable enough that you can accomplish them in a realistic span of time before you become bankrupt. You will then need to develop strategies with which to reach these goals, using tools such as article marketing or email auto responders. With each strategy, a detailed list of tactics will need to be included to help you achieve them. You Internet marketing plan should outline all the strengths of your online business by listing the opportunities you can make use of. However, you will also have to include all the problems you may encounter to help you find the most likely solutions possible.

The Right PerspectiveCreating a marketing plan first will develop the outline necessary for creating a business plan. That’s because the initial questions we ask and answer to establish the marketing plan give the business plan the direction it needs.1.    Who are we trying to reach and how will we reach them?2.    What is the initial and ongoing advertising expense in our budget?3.    How are we going to track the results?Keeping it SimpleEntrepreneurs have always been busy making life less arduous. From inventions designed to make work easier, to the systems that produce, expand and protect our assets, the intent is to modify everything for the purpose of simplification.We can add new ways of reaching our target audience but must first define who they are. When we know them, we should strive to know them better. If we know who we intend to reach it is easier to discover the best places to meet them.How Much Will it Cost?If our objective is to hold a bake sale we can usually generate a small crowd with some flyers and word of mouth. Serious long term objectives demand creating a business plan that will not only generate immediate, but ongoing attention. While this typically involves costly advertising campaigns, we can actually learn something from the old bake sale mentality.Regardless of how we intend to get the word out, or what our budget limits are while creating a marketing plan, long term efforts need to be cumulative. As marketing momentum gains ground, the business plan can be defined and refined.Performance TrackingProfessionals track everything. Savvy business owners don’t leave this responsibility to others. Even if the marketing is outsourced, the business owner needs to understand exactly how they’re monitoring the progress of each and every process.If a specific marketing campaign is attracting tons of interest but generating little to no sales, it needs to be addressed. The marketing plan should feed the business plan.There should be a balance between creating a marketing plan that costs more than the business produces, and creating a business plan that doesn’t feed enough revenue back into the marketing budget. Effectively tracking both plans will allow a business to maintain this balance.

Every successful business is defined by an effective marketing plan. Without some kind of marketing strategy a business is without direction. An important component of any business strategy is defining exactly how your business intends to attract customers to its goods or services. This is the key to making a profit.Marketing plans are the calculated parameters within which a company takes specifically planned actions to create an awareness and demand for a particular commodity. What we want to address here today are 5 common mistakes made when developing marketing plans which could render them ineffective.Lack of Target MarketingYour product or service probably is not suited for everybody therefore why spend time or money promoting to people with little or no buying potential? It’s important to identify the ideal customer profile when planning your advertising. By using a target marketing approach you are better able to spend your advertising dollars in a way that will be more cost-effective. The net impact will be seen in your profit margins.Not Knowing Your NumbersFrom a financial standpoint it’s an absolute that you know your break even points. According to your projections how much money will it take before you make a profit? This knowledge will not only help guide you according to your budget constraints but is also an effective tool for measuring your marketing performance.Lack of Tactical PlanningThere’s no doubt that marketing involves a good deal of creative thinking however when planning your tactics creativity should be put aside. A creative idea is one thing and is encouraged, but implementing this idea is a more of a thought out and methodical tactic. Creativity and tactical planning work well together but don’t try to substitute for the other.Marketing Goes Beyond AdvertisingAs we’ve mentioned earlier marketing in a very large part is a focus of how to attract customers to your goods and services. One thing that you don’t want to overlook when planning your marketing is how to establish a ‘positive’ company image. Aside from product quality this aspect is just as important when promoting your product. How a company representative portrays themselves or treats a potential customer has much influence on the buying decision.Forgetting Existing CustomersExisting customers represent a gold mine to most businesses and shouldn’t be forgotten when putting together any marketing strategy. A significant thrust of any marketing campaign is creating new customers but established customers offer a high probability of repeat business. A plan to monetize both new and old customers should therefore be established. Failure to do this is like leaving money on the table.As you can see if your marketing plan is not well thought out it could hinder your ambitions to having a successful business. An integral component of any business strategy is the planned and deliberate process of attracting customers to your product. Your marketing strategy is where you define how you intend to actually interact with potential buyers in order to generate any profit. If your marketing plan is in someway left incomplete you may fail to attract those customers needed to make your business profitable.