Specializing in digital marketing here at Technology Therapy Group means that we spend time focusing on building your business through online tools. But the biggest challenge we face with clients is a lack of direction and clarity in their business and markets.

What Your Business REALLY Needs = A Plan

We have all heard the saying “I can’t see the forest through the trees,” but what happens if you cut them down and you still can’t see it? When working on your business and your online marketing – do not just start chopping down trees – start by taking the time and creating a plan.

Step 1: Understand Your Approach

Marketing for us is about knowing your goals, making sure your message aligns with those goals, identifying the audiences those messages need to reach and creating a cohesive strategy to meet those objectives. We then take this philosophy and couple it with today’s technology to create new ideas and consistent streamlined systems.

Step 2: Identify Your Objectives

Before you dig into your research or begin writing out your strategy, it is imperative to identify the goals. Without the goals you will be cutting down trees with no purpose. The goals tell you where you want to end up and this will help guide you through the process.

Step 3: Define Your Market

Before you start brainstorming ideas about how to market your business you need to be very clear who you are marketing to. What are your clients’ concerns? How do they buy? What is the catalyst for purchasing a product or service? Also make note if you have too many markets to target. You cannot do it all, and when you are starting out you should try and focus on markets that bring you the greatest ROI. After you have grown you can expand to other markets.

Step 4: Research

Now that you are clear about your market, research the best way to reach that audience. There is a great deal of information from sources like eMarketer and Marketing Sherpa about the details of specific market audiences. Leverage social tools and groups on LinkedIn to gather information and identify the best places to start your marketing.

Step 5: Discuss Tactics

After you have done the research and you are clear about your audience and goals, now you can start to brainstorm ideas and tactics. Each tactic you discuss should be tied to a goal and you should begin discussing how to track its success.

I have broken down creating a plan into 5 steps to help you get started. There are more books than I can mention and more tools for developing a marketing plan, but in an effort to save the forest – this is a great place to start.

If you have a question about having Technology Therapy Group create your online marketing plan and strategy, request a free consultation.