1. It forces you to visualize your dot on the horizon
Making plans has everything to do with ambitions. Thinking about what you want to achieve. In a year but maybe also in 3, 5 or 10 years. The clearer you envision what you want to achieve, the easier it becomes to realize it.
2. Goals become concrete
If you know where you want to be in a certain amount of time, you can set your goals for the coming year. Make sure they are achievable and that there are not too many of them. Otherwise you won't see the forest for the trees and you won't know where to start. It is better at the end of the year to look back on 4 goals that you have achieved than to conclude that you have not achieved any of your 15 goals.
3. It helps you make choices
Following on from the previous point, creating a marketing plan forces you to think carefully about the things that really matter. Everything you are going to do should contribute to meeting your dot on the horizon. Is it not contributing to this? So then you're just doing it. Quiet, right?
This is not to say, by the way, that you shouldn't leave room for unexpected opportunities. One learns by doing, so if unexpected opportunities come along that contribute to achieving your ambition: do it!
4. Without purpose, no success
If you don't set goals, you'll never know when you'll be successful either. Reason enough to set goals right? It is wonderful to see during the year that you have realized things from your plan. My experience is that you quickly focus on what you have not yet achieved while it is just as important to dwell on successes.
5. It gives you insight into your various marketing tools
The marketing profession is now so comprehensive that it is sometimes difficult to keep track of the various marketing tools you use. Online marketing has become a separate profession but offline marketing is also still important for many organizations. On top of that, all the different channels you can use require their own content. Where you used to go a long way with a flyer, now you may be thinking about using video, podcasts, white papers, newsletters, etc. By making a list every year of which channels you will use and what you need for this, you can keep an overview and apply focus. Again, don't try to do everything at once if you don't have the capacity for it.
6. It's a great tool to engage your team and inform colleagues
You don't create a good plan alone. It is important to ask for input from your team. After all, you've gathered these people around you for a reason - they have skills you don't have. Use their knowledge, it will be better! A nice side effect: if team members feel involved, the output will benefit enormously. This increases the chance that you can realize your ambitions!
A good plan not only gives the marketing team tools to flesh out the coming year but also helps you tell the rest of the organization what you are doing and why. Important for support! Marketing is everywhere and employees play an essential role in creating the brand experience.
Convinced but don't know where to start?
I regularly help clients to write their annual marketing plan. The main focus here is on a practical plan with tools for everyone who ‘has to do something with marketing’ within the organization.
