“I’ve been trying to get a plan in place for 7 years.” That’s what a prospect
told me at the end of 2019. Now, this struck me as odd. I mean, if you want a plan, get a plan! What could possibly be in the way?
Well, the founder of this 10-year-old firm was squarely anchored among the other right brain, creative visionaries we work with. So “plan” can double as “limitation” ran counter to her DNA.
Can a visionary have a plan? Of course she can.
Here’s how we did it:
✅ Get the left-brain stuff lined up first so we have a foundation that drives creative thinking. Goals, performance metrics, budget, plan.
✅ Marketing strategy lives to serve the business, not the other way around. Planning is as much about supply chain, inventory management, staffing, and production as it is about channel selection and messaging. Factoring in inventory management as part of a content strategy and social media plan works powerfully.
✅ We set down some rules right at the beginning: no random tactics; all decisions pointed toward business goals for the year.
✅ We saved flexibility for things beyond our control, like the weather, supply chain, international diplomacy… the pandemic.
✅ And we met often (virtually these days) to stay afloat as the creative winds changed.
It’s been a tough year but her business is up versus 2019, and we all agree: the plan--with a few adjustments to nod our heads to the pandemic--drove the success.
Moral of the story: Strategy and planning help prevent wasted dollars. End of story.
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