Put your marketing plan into action

It’s very possible that you’re currently wondering if your marketing plan – you know, the one you and your team worked so hard to devise – will follow the fate of many other great marketing plans; gathering dust in a drawer. Things have been hectic, the Covid pandemic has thrown spanner after spanner into the works, and it feels as though the capacity and skills you need to deliver your ambition are stretched thin.

Is it possible to make your marketing plan a reality? Is there anything you can do to inspire others in the business to get things done?

You’re not alone if you’re thinking that. But the good news is that there is something you can do to regain focus and move the needle on your plans. And you’ll be surprised to learn that it’s stuff you already know.

Finding control and monitor progress by getting back to basics

Trust me, these tips are probably what you’ll have read about in countless marketing articles and text books about managing teams, and you could probably recount them in your sleep. And yet, when it comes to the day-in, day-out management of a hectic marketing team sometimes these simple rituals and actions can get lost. And you’ll be pleasantly gratified at how much getting back to basics can make a difference. Often the obvious is easy to forget and overlook, but in order to make progress during and after upheaval it’s good to regroup around tried and tested methods.

1. Don’t just let your marketing plan seep out. Launch it.

It’s highly likely that your marketing plan was developed by a small group of people. This implies the majority of the team may not be fully aware of the priorities or details you have agreed in your marketing plan. So, it now needs to be distilled into a digestible and motivational story that can mobilise your team.

A launch event for your plan helps address knowledge gaps and brings the team together. Try adding some sizzle to your event so people feel excited for the year ahead. Not easy when we are doing everything virtually, but there are some creative solutions out there to zhoosh-up your marketing plan launch. House music Zoom DJ anyone?

At your launch event aim to connect the business goals, priorities to the deliverables in the plan. It’s an ideal opportunity to instil confidence in the way forward for the next few months. However, importantly, it also gives the team an opportunity to ask questions and probe the detail of the plan. Everyone needs to come away from that meeting knowing what needs to be done and their role in achieving it.

2. Align people’s personal objecitves to deliverables in the marketing plan

The next step is to make sure that personal objectives relate to the content of the marketing plan. This one can easily get forgotten in the busy days of the start of a new planning year. What I mean is really specific alignment. That you can track between what you marketing plan says and what people are going to do, with specific and mesureable goals.

What’s worked really well for me, is agreeing with people “No-Fail” goals. These are goals that are game-changers and are so important that every effort is taken to avoid failure. It’s usually the kind of thing that will mean you can take a massive leap forward in what you are doing. These “No-Fail” goals then become the key focus for ongoing coaching and performance discussions, and really refuel motivation when focus slips.