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Most
successful companies have started out with some type of Marketing Plan.
Larger companies have marketing plans that consist of hundreds of
pages. Lucky for us, we are not large corporations and probably will
never need anything that elaborate. But just the same we need a
plan. Some kind of plan, whether it be a book or something as simple as
a 1/2 dozen pages or so is better than no plan at all. Let us use a
scenario I once heard of 'how effective a marketing plan can be'. Let's
assume we go sailing. We want to arrive at a certain destination.We did not make any plans of any sort. No maps, no compass, nothing. Best case scenario for us is we end up on Gilligan's Island. Worst case scenario is we get stranded in the middle of the ocean with not a clue as to where to go or which way to turn. Now you are guessing you should have listened to your friends and brought the map and compass.
Now (after some convincing) you decide to take your friends advice and put together some sort of marketing plan. But remember, if you simply put together a marketing plan and never look at it in the future, well you might as well have left it at home with the compass and map. (And the picnic basket). You could put together the most powerful and remarkable, fool proof plan but if you never refer back to it to see how well you are following the plan it does you no good. Just like taking the map and compass but never reading either one. If we go back to the sailing trip, it is better to be a couple miles off your target destination than on some deserted island in the middle of nowhere. (Oh ya and cell phones don't work on deserted island).
Ok, let's get back to our marketing plan for your Notary Signing Agent Business. Make your marketing plan and put it into a 3 ring binder and add monthly tabs. Refer to your plan once a month, and insert your monthly progress. Companies you have signed up with, signings you have completed and so on. This will allow you to track your performance as you follow your marketing plan.
For small companies like the Notary Signing Agent business, this is often the best way to think about marketing. Things change, schedulers leave, markets evolve, and Signing Services and Title companies come and go. Later on, we suggest creating a section in your plan that addresses the medium-term future--two to four years down the road, but the bulk of your plan should focus on the coming year.
You should allow yourself a couple of months to write the plan, even if it's only a few pages long. Developing the plan is the most crucial part of marketing. While executing the plan has its challenges, deciding what to do, how to do it and when to do it is marketing's greatest challenge.
You can't create a marketing plan without getting many people involved. This is especially important because it will take all aspects of your family to make your marketing plan work. Get your family involved with your decisions. Talk to your spouse, your parents or your girlfriend/boyfriend and get their input on your ideas. Remember, if you are in a family environment this sort of business can tend to get quite demanding. If successful, it will become very demanding. Make sure you have everybody's support. If you're essentially a one-person management operation, you'll have to wear all the hats at one time--but at least the meetings will be short!
What's the relationship between your marketing plan and your business plan or mission statement? Your business plan spells out what your business is about, what you do and don't do, and what your ultimate goals are. It encompasses more than marketing; it can include discussions of locations, staffing, financing, strategic alliances with other Signing Agents (Network Groups) and so on. It includes "the mission thing," the great words of wisdom that spell out the purpose of your company. Your business plan back bones to your company as a whole. If you want to do something that's outside the business plan, you need to either change your mind or change the plan. Your company's business plan provides the environment in which your marketing plan must flourish. The two documents must be consistent.
A marketing plan is essentially an elaborate collection of your business goals. I agree with you that it is essential if you plan on staying in this business for any length of time. It is too easy to slack off and forget all of the little things you could be doing to market your services. Good article.
