You gotta have a plan…

Battle plan; you don’t do a battle hope, you don’t do a battle guess, you do a battle plan. Once you have a business idea, you don’t write a business prayer, you write a business plan. Well that’s just common sense, you chorus. You’re right, of course, but hold that thought while we take it a little further.

Sales, book-keeping, administration, employment and growth are all part of the business process. So is marketing, which is why so much is invested annually to persuade us to buy what we do. Your choice of car, for example, will have been greatly influenced by marketing, if you’re honest. It’s also why companies like Nike, Coca Cola, Apple et al have such great market share: they’re not afraid to tell people what they’re doing, they’re not afraid of asking people to buy, and they’re not afraid to put their money where their mouth is. But one thing is for sure, they won’t have spent a penny of their budget without careful planning in what realistically the return on their investment will be.

Right, back to that thought you were holding. Nike will have sales people, just like you do. Apple have accountants, although probably a few more than most companies. You have employees? Coca Cola do too. The difference between these guys and you, is that they probably take their marketing more seriously, because they take it very seriously indeed. When you are investing in marketing at the level of these firms, strategy is king. But seriously, although your budgets won’t be at this scale – not many budgets are – does it mean that you don’t have to have a strategy? You decide.