Do you have a marketing plan?

I regularly receive questions about marketing for group coaching programs, workshops and retreats. For most independent professionals, marketing is one area which usually elicits a strong response - either positive or negative. It is an often overlooked area, yet critical for program and business success. If people don't know about you, how do they know what you offer and attend your events?

I will ask profesionals - "Do you have a marketing plan?". Just as a business plan is an essential roadmap for our success, a marketing plan is also critical. How much do you have budgeted for marketing this year?

Many coaches use the summer months for planning, and I would encourage you to put some thought to how you want to market your programs and your general business this next year. How do you want to let people know about your offerings. Some possibilities include:

• World of mouth, referral
• Speaking engagements
• Website, Blogs, Podcasts
• Media Exposure
• Other ads - print, radio , tv

Each one of these has shown different rates of return - with ads and direct mail often showing the lowest rates of return.

If you haven't done so already, spend some time over the coming weeks mapping out your marketing strategy and costs. As you go through this exercise keep in mind who your clients are and what appeals to them (see my earlier post on Knowing Your Client).

You may want to develop a MindMap on this to get your creative juices flowing. Another simple structure is to develop a table in Word and list the marketing activities you will take, along with specifics regarding date, cost, description and outcome. Track your marketing efforts and see which ones are netting you the best results. What about it is so effective?

What is one thing that you could do each day to move your marketing efforts forward?

I know that there are lots of marketing questions out there, so please use the comment link and I will blog on these marketing questions in the future.

With best wishes,

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized

Web: http://www.potentialsrealized.com