4 Steps for an Effective Marketing Plan

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M A R K E T I N G

5 Q u e s t i o n s t o A s k a M a r k e t i n g C o m m u n i c a t i o n s F i r mIf v o i i ' r e l o o k i n g f o r h e l p c r a f t in g a m a r k e t in gp l d i i - a n d p e r t i a p s t ie l p e x e c u t in g i t , t o o - v o u ' l ln e e d t o c a r e f u ll y e v a l u a t e lo c a l m a r k e t in g c o m -m u n i c a t io n s f ir m s . M a r k e t in g e x p e r t s r e c o m -m e n d a s k i n g t h e f o l lo w i n g q u e s t io n s t o a s s e ss af ir m ' s q u a l i f ic a t i o n s a n d p o t e n t i a l f it w i t h v o u rp r a c t i c e :

W h a t w j il m y f ir m r e c e iv e a s a r e s u l t o f t h i se n g a g e m e n t ?" W i l l t h e y b e g e t ti n g a m e m o r a n d u m w i t h s p e -c i f ic r e c o m m e n d a t io n s , o r a r e p o r t , w h i c h is a na s s e s s m e n t o f th e o r g a n i z a t i o n , " a sk s D a n W e i n -b a c h o f T h e W e i n b a c h G r o u p In c . in M i a m i . " Is i tg o i n g t o in c l u d e a n a c t i o n p l a n ? (P l a n n e r s ) n e e dt o u n d e r s ta n d w h a t t h e v a r e b v i n g , a n d a l o n gw i th t h a t , t h e v n e e d t o u n d e r s t a n d w h a t t im et h e c o n s u l ta n t is g o i n g t o b e i n v e s t in g i n d e v e l -o p i r ig t h a t m a r k e t i n g p l a n , b e c a u s e t h e t i m ei n v e s t m e n t i s g o i n g t o i n d i c a te n o t o n l y w h a tt h e y c a n e x p e c t i n t e r m s o f q u a l i ty , b u t a ls o w h a tt h e y c a n e x p e c t t o p a v . "

D o e s yo u r f ir m w r i t e a n d i m p l e m e n tm a r k e t i n g p l a n s ?"A f i n a n c i a l p la n n i n g f i r m n e e d s t o h a v e a n e y e o ni f a n d h o w t h e y a r e g o i n g t o h i re t h i s c o n s u l ta n ' t oi m p l e m e n t t h e p l a n , " s a ys W e in b a c h . "T h e r e a r tc o m p a n i e s o u t th e r e t h a t ju s t d o m a r k e t i n g p l a i is ,a n d h a v i n g a g r e a t m a r k e t i n g p l a n d o e s n ' t d o al o t o f g o o d if v o u d o n ' t h a v e s o m e o n e t o p u t t h ' iw h e e l s i n m o t i o n . "

A r e y o u a m a r k e t in g c o m m u n ic a tio n s f ir mo r a n a d a g e n c y ?" M a k e s u re y o u a r e g e t ti n g a m a r k e t in g f i r m , n o t a na d a g e n c y . " s av s R o d g e r R o e s e r o f E i s e n M a n a g em e n t G r o u p i n C in c i n n a t i. " G o i n g t o a n a d a g e n c yfo r a m a r k e t in g p l a n i s lik e g o i n g t o a p o d i a t ri s t e n de x p e c t in g h e l p w i t h p a i n in y o u r b a c k . A n a da g e n c y b u v s a d s , a n d w h a t y o u n e e d is a m a r k e tin g p l a n : th a t c o m e s b e f o r e b u y i n g a n y a d s . "W i ia t f ir m s h a v e y o u w o r k e d w i ti i th a t a r es i m i l a r I n s i ze a n d b u s i n e s s t y p e t o o u r s?

" Y ou w a n t to k n o w th e f ir m ' s c li e n t m i x - d o t h e yw o r k w i t h o r g a n i z a t i o n s t h a t a r e r o u g h l y y o u rs iz e , w i t h s i m i la r b u s in e s s c u l tu r e s a n d c h a l -l e n g e s , " a s k s C h a r t e s E p s t e in o f B a c k o n e I n c . inB o c a R a t o n . R a .

" D o t h e y h a v e a t r a c k r e c o r d i n y o u r p a r t ic u l a rs e c t o r ? I t t h e v d o n ' t , i t ' s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y a d e a lk i l l e r - s o l o n g a s t h e y d e m o n s t r a te a n u n d e r -s t a n d i n g o f v o u r n e e d s , is s u e s a n d o b j e c t iv e s . "W h o w i ll h e w o r k i n g o n m y a c c o u n t?'Y o u w a n t s e n io r l e v c i e x p e r t is e w o r k i n g o n v o u ra c c o u n t , n o t t h e m a r k e t in g in t e r n s o r n e w g r a d u -a t e s , " s a v s R o e s e r.W e i n b a c h a d v is e s p a v i n g a t t e n t io n t o t f iec h e m is t ry b e t w e e n t h e m a r k e t in g f i rm a n d v o u rf i n a n c i a l p l a n n i n g f i r m , s iv i n g : "H o w d o I g e ta l o n g w i th t h e s e p e o p l e ? D o w e s p e a k t h e s a m eia n g u a g e ? D o i lik e t h e m ? A m 1 c o m f o r t a b l e s i t t i n gin t h e r o o m w i th t h e m ? C h e m i; ; tr y is d r e a l l yi m p o r t a n t p a r t o f t h e f o r m u l a . "

- A . B .

of the practice and the better under-standing of what you need to do in termsof marketing."

When constructing a marketing plan, itmakes sense to follow the se step s, sug-gested by experienced planners and mar-keting com munications experts:S t e p O n e : D e f i n e N i c h e a n d A u d i e n c eA robust marketing plan is based on abusiness plan that clearly defines yourniche and your potential audience, saysKristin Harad , CFP, of VitaVie FinancialPlanning in San Francisco.

"My niche is that I am a financial plan-ner for new and expectant parents andpeople with young families," she says. "So Ihave what could be conceived (of) as asmall niche, but it really drives my market-ing plan. I can then find those marketingchannels that will put me in front of thetypes of people that I want to work with."

Nolan Baker, CSA, of Baker FinancialServices in Toledo, Ohio, agrees th at

defining your niche and then finding youraudience based on that niche is vital.

"I'm very, very focused," he says. "Abe ut85 percent of my ctients are currentlybetween the ages of 5 5 and 75.1 focus onretirement distribution planning." Baker'sfocus on that niche drives him to concen-trate on several types of marketing,including radio shows, monthly seminisand the dissemination of free financialplanning reports.

S t e p T w o : T a r g e t I n t e r n a l a n d E x t e r n a l A u d i e n t e sAttracting new clients is one of the mostimportant objectives of a marketing plan.But don't get so busy bringing in newbusiness that you neglect your currentclients.

"There are few things worse than aclient who feels neglected," says AlanGuinn, managing director and chief exec-utive officer of The Guinn ConsultancyGroup, a marketing company. "Not com-municating with clients on an ongoing

hasis creates missed opportunities for youto keep your name front and center in themind of your client."

For Lantern Financiiil LLC in Boston,identifying a target market of engagedand newlywed young, professional cou-ples not only helped propel the firm'smarketing efforts, but also their entirebusiness.

"Being able to develop a new servicemost fitting to your target market is notthe only benefit to having a marketingplan," says Kinski Nastasia, who handlespublic and media relations at the firm. "Italso helps oui " business identify strengthsand weaknesses and analyze our marketconditions and how we compete with ourcompetitors."S t e p T h r e e : C o n s i d e r M a r k e t i n g C h a n n e l sHarad recomm ends that you .spend sometime brainstorming the different maikcting

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EFFECTIVE MARKETING PLANCONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

channels where you might be able toreach your target audience.

"When you have a niche and havedefined that, you inimedititely carve out awhole section of channels where you canbe marketing, so you can start focusingyour efforts instead of just showing upand do ing 'anything,'" says Harad. "So form e , with a focus on expectant parentsand families with children 5 and under, 1could advertise inmom's club new slet-ters, speak at mom's club events andattend birth and baby fairs."

Baker takes his marketing efforts to histargeted external audience and his cur-rent clients and breaks them down by themonth, pegged to financial events such asthe tax season.

"Each month we have an event and anaction, such as a specific mailer, and wealso run seminars," he says.

communicat ing wi thclients on an ongoingbasis creates missedopportuni t ies for you tokeep your name front andcenter in the mind of yourclient.^^

- A l a n G u i n n

S t e p F o u r : C r e a t e t h e P l a nw he n creating a marketing plan, manyplanners go to outside m arketing experts,such as independent contractors or localmarketing communications firms. Thesidebar, "5 Q uestions to Ask a Marketing

Comm unications Firm," on page 7 pro-vides guidance on what you should askany firm or independent contractor youare considering hiring to create your plaimplement it, or both.

Lastly, make sure you follow th e abovesteps and come up with a plan before yostart marketing.

"The biggest mistake that many m a k eeven seasoned professionalsis to jumpto tactics (such as), " G e e , I think I'll takeout a big Yellow Pages ad or get a billboaor run a spot on the radio,'" says LinGrensing'Pophal, author of Marketing wt h e E n d i n Mind. "Those may all be apprpriate, but what I stress with the peoplework with is that it's literally impossibleknow (what's appropriate) withou t firsttaking the imp ortant steps of identifyingspecific goals and objectives and selectina specific target audience." @

Am y E . Buttell ia a freeiance w riter and regular cciiKriitor to Practice Management Solutions.

F P A R e s o u r c e sC h e c k o u t t h e s e a n d o t h e r F P A re s o u r ce s d e s ig n e dt o h e lp v o u m a x i m i z e v o u r m a r k e t i n g e f fo r t so n l i n e a t S h o p F P A . o r g :F PA B u s in e s s S o l u t io n s 2 0 0 9A t t e n d t h e p r e m i e r b u s in e s s m a n a g e m e n t c o n f e r -e n c e o f t h e v e a r f o r c u t t in g - e d g e m a r k e t i n g s e s -s i o n s , E a r l y - b i rd r e g i s t r a t io n c lo s e s J a n , 2 3 ; r e g i s t e ro n li n e a t w w w . F P A S o l u t i o n s . o r g .F M B u s in e s s S o lu t io n s 2 0 0 8 : S a le s & M a r k e ti n g T r ac kT h i s a u d i o CD s e t in c l u d e s f i v e s e s s io n s o n g r o w i n gy o u r p r a c t i c e t h r o u g h i n t e l l i g e n t m a r k e t i n g , t a k i n gc o n t r o l o f y o u r f i rm ' s g r o w t h , b u i ld i n g y o u r b u s i -n e s s tt i r o u g h c l ie n t e v e n t s a n d p u b l i c r e la t i o n s : t h ea r t o f s e l l i n g t o t h e a f f l u e n t : a n d t h e p r o f e s s i o n a lr e f e r ra l m e t h o d . A l s o , c h e c k o u t th e t e c h n o l o g yt ra c k f r o m la s t y e a r 's c o n fe r e n c e f o r m o r e m a r k e t -i n g a n d p r a c t ic e m a n a g e m e n t r e s o u r c e s ,FP A M a r k e t in g T o o l k i tT h i s to o l k it g i v e s y o u t h e b e s t p r a c t ic e s , g u i d e s ,

m o d e l s a n d r e a d y - t o - u s e t e m p l a t e s fo r t a c t i c a lm a r k e t i n g c a m p a i g n s , p u b l ic r e l a t io n s e f f o r ts ,m e a s u r in g i m p l e m e n t a t io n a n d e f fe c t iv e n e s s a n dm u c h m o r e . T h e t o o l k it a l so i n c lu d e s a c o n s u m e r -f o c u s e d P o w e r P o in t p r e s e n t a t io n a d d r e s s in g t h en e e d a n d v a i u e o f fi n a n c i a l p l a n n i n g ,F PA C o n s u m e r -O r i e n t e d B r o c h u r e S e rie sT h e " A s k Y o u r F in a n c ia l P l a n n i n g P r o f e s s io n a lA b o u t , ,, " b r o c h u r e s e r ie s l e t s yo u c h o o s e f r o m s e v e nr e l e y a n t t o p i c s t o e d u c a t e y o u r c l i e n t s t h r o u g h ah i g h - l e v e l q u e s t i o n a n d a n s w e r f o r m a t .

T h e " C l i e n t M a r k e t i n g " b r o c h u r e s e r i e s i n c l u d e se i g h t g e n e r a l t o p ic s d e s i g n e d a s a n i n t r o d u c t i o n t oh e l p y o u e n g a g e c o n s u m e r s w h o m ig h t b e w o r k i n gw i t h a p l n n e r f o r t h e f ir s t t im e . O n e p a c k a g ei n c l u d e s 5 0 b r o c h u r e s . P e r s o n a l i z a t i o n w i t h y o u rp h o t o , co m p a n y n a m e a n d l o g o a re a v a i la b le w i t h am i n im u m o r d e r .M a rc F r e ed m a n o n M a r k e tin gT h e F PA P r e ss t i t l e . O v e r s o l d a n d U n d e r s e r v e d : A

F i n a n c i a l P l a n n e r 's G u i d e l o E f f e c t i v e l y S e r v i n g t h eM d s s A f f l u e n t , b y M a r c S , F r e e d m a n . C F P " , o f f e r s a ni n n o y a t i v e a n d e n e r g e t ic a p p r o a c h t o m a r k e t in gt h a t y o u ' r e u n l ik e l y t o f i n d i n o t h e r t it le s ,V I C S e s s io n sP r o m o t in g Y o u r P r a c tic e D u r in g R e c e s s io n a r y T i m e sP r e s e n t e d b y C l a u d io P a n n u n z ioL e a rn t i p s f o r z e r o - c o s t c o m m u n i c a t io n s t ra t e g i e st o h e l p b u i l d y o u r c r e d i b i l i t y a n d y o u r b o o k o fb u s i n e s s .H o w t o G r o w Y o u r B u s in e s s t l i r o u g h R e f e r ra l sP r e s e n t e d b y J o n a t h a n A . M i n t zG e t s u g g e s t io n s t o r b u i ld i n g b e t te r r e l a t io n s h i p sw i t h l a w y e r s a n d C P A s,G r o w i n g Y o u r S t r a t e g i c A l l i a n c e sP r e s e n t e d b y S u s a n B r a d l e y . C F FM o v e b e y o n d r e f e r r a ls t o f o c u s o n c o l la b o r a t io na n d b u i ld i n g a n a d v i s e r te a m .

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