Helping everyone who may be creating or evaluating business plans to be able to tell if the person who wrote the plan has really done their homework in the marketing strategy portion.

1. Evaluating the Marketing Strategy
of a Business Plan
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2. Underestimating Customer Acquisition Cost
● Customer acquisition can make or break a business
● Research is key
● Experimentation and refinement cuts costs
● Marketing costs must include everything marketing related, not
just the cost of the advertising

3. Why do Entrepreneurs Underestimate Cost?
● Web design has become easier to start
● Marketing tools have become more user friendly
● Many marketing channels are “free”
● The person lacks the experience

5. Types of Marketing
● Digital Marketing
○ Online
○ Website
○ Social Media
○ SEO/SEM
● Traditional Marketing
○ Offline
○ Print
○ Networking
○ TV/Radio

7. Cost Research
Research Target Audience
Research Competitions Marketing
Research Best Practices
● Will marketing be done in-house or through and agency (or both)?
● Which website CMS will be used?
● Website hosting, security, and updates
● All ad channels, ad types, and ad spend
● Marketing software stack
● Website Design
● Content creation

8. Content is King!
● Has the business owner put the time in to figure out how the
content is to be created?
● Have they set goals and content dissemination schedules?
● Are they making content with purpose and value for the
consumer?
● Is the amount of content needed being underestimated by the
business owner?
● Is content being repurposed to save time and money

10. Digital Marketing Essentials
● Secure Responsive Website
● Social Presence
● On-page and off-page SEO
● Content Creation Strategy and Deployment Schedule
● Software Stack

11. Secure Responsive Web Design
● SSL Certificate installed
● Responsive
● Usability testing
● Integrated SEO

13. Website Design and Functionality
● Easy to find contact form(s)
● Easy to navigate - not too busy visually
● Great content that fits your services
● Calls-to-action
● Consistency in imagery
● Fast page speeds for SEO & User Experience
● Google Analytics and Tag Manager
● Backend usability and functions

15. Driving Traffic to your Website
● SEO from the ground up for specific product related keywords and
phrases
● Social posting that matches your brand and generates interest and
uses hashtags to get in front of new viewers
● Strategic paid ad campaigns
● Remarketing on proper display networks
● Email Marketing (not spamming)

16. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
● What terms should rank for?
● Competitor research & data collection
● Search engine compliance
● Comprehensive keyword research
● Content development
● Rank tracking
● On/Off Page
Mobile Responsive
Fast Load Times
Localized SEO

17. On page vs Off Page SEO
● On Page SEO
○ Keywords
○ Internal Linking
○ Text Formatting
○ Fresh Content
○ Page speed
○ Mobile Responsive
○ Image optimization
● Off Page SEO
○ Link Building- directories
○ Social Media
○ Social Bookmarking
○ Natural Linkbacks

18. Social Media - Picking your battles
● What platform does the target audience use
● Are there any smaller communities that could
yield better results? (alignable for example)
● Have you done hashtag research?
● Are you cross promoting?
Target Audience uses it
Tracking ability for posts
Plugs into my marketing software stack

19. SEM/Paid Advertising
● Competitive bid adjustments
● Budget monitoring
● Content optimization (seo helps)
● Behavior tracking & targeting
● Geolocation targeting
Various Ad Types
Landing Page Design
Set Conversion Goals

20. Email Marketing
● List segmentation for personalized emails
● Automated campaign configuration
● Drag & drop email design tool
● Comprehensive analytics
● Deliverability through best practices
Responsive Design
Integrated Social Media
Auto-Resend Configuration

22. Printed Marketing Materials
● Continue to promote your digital presence on print
material
● Repurpose your digital content on print
● Include a way to track results
● QR codes help track generated web traffic
● Trackable phone numbers
Business Cards
Brochures or handouts
Direct Mail

23. Television and Radio Advertising
● Does your target demographic use TV
or Radio?
● Is your ad playing during the right
shows and on the right channel?
● Would paying for a video production be
better used on digital networks?
Can be a great avenue for some businesses, but not all
Can be costly, research demographic first
Consider digital audio and visual ads as well as
traditional radio/tv ads

24. Networking
● Add contacts created into your CRM
● Connect on linkedin
● Join a group that meets regularly
● Attend trade shows that fit your industry, and
have a proven record of foot traffic
● A nice display booth can be worthwhile
depending on the business
● Ideally those in your network skip the
web search and call upon you.
Face-to-Face builds rapport
Prospects speak more candidly about
their needs
Can be an affordable way to land a
big client

26. Branding
● The brand isn’t just a logo - the brand is the company reputation
● Company culture is part of your brand and should be displayed on
social media.
● Becoming a “brand-name” isn’t always the right path for a business
● Include a brand guideline in your business plan
● Incorporate your brand in every aspect of marketing

27. Personal Branding

28. Personal Branding
● All employees represent the company brand
● A social media clause for new employees is needed
● Sharing and liking content can increase reach as algorithms favor
engaged posts
● Company Culture should be reflected on social media

29. In Conclusion
● Every piece of your marketing strategy takes time to carry out.
● Even if something is “free”, consider the time it will take
● Researching audience, competition, software, and time helps create the
most accurate plan
● Invest in quality content

30. Thank You!
Q & A
FireDrum Email Marketing
SP Marketing Experts
daniel@firedrum.com
(480) 699 1524
firedrumemailmarketing.co
m
spmarketingexperts.com