Last week, you decided the promotions and strategies you wanted to focus on in your 2013 marketing plan. (If you didn’t do that already, now is a good time. Read Get a Head Start on Next Year’s Marketing Plan now.)
Today, we’ll talk about how you can ensure your plans take place, so marketing doesn’t end up as an afterthought.
It all comes down to your workback schedule.
What is a workback schedule?
When someone experiences outrageous success, it’s because they had a clear idea of where they were going, then took dedicated action to ensure they arrived. In short, they saw the destination before they took their first step.
That’s what the workback schedule is about. Last week you settled on some specific business-building activities and campaigns. They’re your destination.
Now, to be sure you take all the right steps to get those activities done, you need to work backwards from their completion dates to their start dates.
A workback schedule allows you to plan backwards so important details don’t fall through the cracks. In many cases, it’s used for individual projects, but this week, you’ll use it to finalize your marketing plan — and stay on top of it throughout the year.
Start with the list you made last week
Last week, you decided on specific activities that would help you meet your business objectives. You also made sure they would fit the calendar. This week, you’ll take your planning one step further.
Create an Excel file with the following headings:
- Business Objective
- Strategic Plan
- Stakeholder
- Budget Allocation
- Desired Completion Date
- Estimated Time to Complete
- Estimated Start Date
Under column 1, enter each of the business objectives you came up with last week.
In column 2, enter the specific activity or activities you decided on to achieve that objective. Include campaigns or promotions you’d like to create and any ideas you have for them.
In column 3, enter the stakeholder or the person/team responsible for making it happen. If you’re a solopreneur, you may leave off this column, or you may include vendors and freelancers you’d like to work with.
In column 4, decide how much money you’re willing to invest in the strategy. For print promotions, itemize printing and postage. Include the cost of graphic artists, writers and programmers if you expect to hire out.
In column 5, set your completion date. This will come from last week’s planning session.
In column 6, write in the amount of time you believe it will take to develop the campaign or complete the activity you have planned. Be sure to include time for planning your campaign.
In column 7, work backwards from the completion date to set the start date for your plan.
Finalize your marketing calendar
Enter your start and completion dates in your marketing calendar and set reminders if you need to. Double check that your plan is feasible.
Notice that you still haven’t done extensive planning of your individual campaigns and activities. That isn’t necessary at this point. You only need to keep an eye on your calendar to make sure you begin each promotion on its start date.
How will you begin? When a reminder alerts you that it’s time to start a promotion, go back to the Excel document you just made to review your ideas.
Then find a quiet place to brainstorm and create your plan. Decide on your message, channels and touches, and the activities you’ll need to complete for your campaign to be a success.
If it’s a new marketing strategy rather than a promotion, plan your approach, such as researching the issue, finding a vendor, getting training, creating your strategy and specific activities.
Then create a timeline for the project’s completion.
As you did above, work backwards from the completion date for each milestone or project deadline. Then set hard deadlines for each activity related to your campaign.
Can you do that now? Certainly. But it isn’t necessary. Now that your marketing plan is set and you know your objectives for the new year, maybe you’d like a holiday toast. You deserve it.
Image © Radu Razvan Gheorghe | Dreamstime.com
