In the Marketing Mix Part 2
If you have not looked at your marketing mix lately (or ever), then now is the time! Whether it is the beginning of the year and you updating your business plan or it is the end of the quarter and you are reviewing numbers, writing down and assessing your marketing mix is essential to creating an action plan and to reaching your goals.
Let’s get started. Download our Marketing Mix Worksheet to follow along with the steps below. And if you do not know what the heck is a marketing mix—it is not a cocktail—then read Part 1: How Do You Slice Your Marketing Pie?
Step 1: List your marketing activities
Write down anything and everything that you do to promote your business:
| Face-to-Face | Traditional |
Online | Other |
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Step 2: Rank Your Marketing Activities
First, list rank each item on your list, from 1 to 99, according to the frequency or much you do that activity. (1 is where you spend the most time, etc.) Then rank each item according to its effectiveness, again from 1 to 99 with 1 being the most effective. You can determine how effect an activity is by looking at the number of leads or sales that it generates or how much revenue it creates. Review the results; are the items that you do the most also the most effective?
Step 3: Write out your goals
Choose your top 3 business goals and write them down. If you need help setting goals, read my earlier post on setting marketing goals.
Step 4: Rewrite your marketing plan
Using your activities list and rankings, create a list of your top 5 marketing activities (Choose based on effectiveness not what you are doing most now. If you are doing something a lot and it is not effective then you need to change your approach.) Set specific goals and targets for each activity to meet your overall business goals. Push yourself outside your comfort zone—this exercise is about being successful not doing what you always have or the same thing as your competitor.
Step 5: Rinse and repeat
Marketing is a process not a destination so repeat the marketing mix exercise periodically to access how well your current effort is doing and what new activities you can add to the mix.
