How Do I Write a Marketing Plan

How Do I Write a Marketing Plan? Part I - Situation Analysis

By Stan Rydzynski

The foundation for any business is the plan to convert the goods and services you offer into profitable sales that meet the needs of the customer. The process to accomplish this task has to be identified and carefully scripted to achieve your goals. Your marketing plan is the business vehicle that places all the variables in one document and charts your actions for growth. Many small businesses are not challenged about conceiving a plan nor do they write a plan to be followed. Most subscribe to the “the seat of their pants” approach. They have ideas or proceed on a path that they either observed from previous employment or decided this is what is required. This is not the way to succeed. The process of thinking about how you want to develop your business and writing it down on paper is necessary to achieve your desired success. For example:

How else would you monitor your progress?
Have you covered all that is required to meet your customer’s needs? Do you know what you need to communicate to generate new business? What type of business do you want to pursue (Commercial, industrial, residential remodeling, solar, energy efficiency opportunities)?
What are your goals? What do you want to grow your business to be … in revenue, in services, geographic expansion, product offering, etc.? Do you have a schedule that maps the communication plan?
What selling points (attributes) will your company use to obtain the orders?
How do you and will you differentiate your company from other contractors?
How will you arrange from a bank to provide you a loan without a writing plan for growth?

The beginning of your marketing plan is the, “Situation Analysis”. Don’t let this text book definition make you feel uncomfortable. Before you can establish goals to achieve, you first have to understand the pluses and minuses of your company. Or write down what you feel are your strengths and weaknesses. In many plans, there is a need to also include opportunities and threats in the situation analysis. This is referred to as an S.W.O.T. analysis in the academic and business communities. This S.W.O.T. portion of the marketing plan is critical in forming the basis for the rest of the plan. If I have identified 22 weaknesses, shouldn’t I be attempting to establish a goal and action steps/plans to overcome the weakness? Or if I have an outstanding strength, the action plan should highlight this to the customer.

I would suggest that the first step be establishing your strengths & weaknesses by listing the reasons your future and existing customers should do business with you. Obviously these are strengths that are priority one to your success. To help you, here are some examples:

24 hour emergency service.
We answer your phone call immediately or within 15 minutes guaranteed – ALWAYS.
Over “XX” years in business. Over 130 years of experienced electricians on staff.
Insured and bonded – All company electricians take a minimum of 20 hours yearly training to keep up-to-date with the latest products, installation techniques and electrical standards.
5 year warranty on labor; one year manufacturer’s extended warranties on all products.
Cleanliness Warranty - After the work is completed you will never know we were there.
We are always on time or we’ll take 10% off your bill.
Wiring and installation is always installed to meet current County and State Electrical Codes & Federal OSHA Standards.
All completed work is tested with the most up-to-date equipment for added safety.
All quotations are in writing with no hidden charges.
VISA®, MasterCard® and American Express® accepted.
Our service trucks are stocked with over 2500 electrical products to make quick repairs and reduce your down time.

Did you notice that of the twelve examples not one has anything to do with the actual type of work you perform? It is a list of the overall benefits of your company to your customer. This is a very important point. You will be judged by the customer on how your company benefits them. We will discuss shortly the applications you perform, but this list is the difference maker between you and somebody else when price is removed from the equation.

Continuing with the strengths, you should clearly identify the type of work you will install or repair. This includes the work at specific types of buildings and businesses, such as “Residential/Commercial/Institutional/Industrial”, and subgroups like office, restaurant, schools, strip mall shops, bars, parking and garage lighting, medical offices, nursing homes, hospital, firehouse, movies/theatre, gas stations, etc. Next are the types of electrical work you can perform. Here are some examples that you can be including in your plan:

Motor and pump repair
Panel Upgrading
3 Phase installation
Automation wiring and trouble shooting
Low voltage telephone, audio and video expert
Harmonic testing & trouble shooting
Energy Management Audits & Installations
Arc Flash Testing
Residential and Commercial Swimming pool and fountain wiring
Surge & Lighting Protection

This list can be as long as you want. Many items on the list you can perform immediately while others may be identified as future services to offer. Your plan should be a three year plan with heavy emphasis on the first year. Since the plan isn’t in concrete, it can be modified to adapt to your changing needs.

You need to identify in which of these services are you really the expert and which ones are the most important in helping you be profitable. The reason is you want to promote the services that you make the most money. Have you ever seen an ad for ROMEX®? Why? Because it is a commodity with no identifiable differences, hence very low margins.
There are other strengths you need to identify as well.

The ability to perform the work.
Your talent as a sales person and the people in your employment.
The ability to bid a job in a timely and efficient manner.
Your superior customer service.

These and other positive elements of your business needs to written in the plan.

With your strengths completed, you need to discuss the negatives or weaknesses that you need to address. This can be the hardest part of the plan. Most individuals do not like to admit or be judged for the things they do not do well. You have to be honest or you will never correct the obstacles to being more successful.

Note: It is highly recommended that you have a moderator conduct in an open forum discussion to establish your marketing plan. I have seen the best planning develop when a third party orchestrates the discussion. It frees the owners and participants to communicate with an open mind not only on the S.W.O.T. analysis but also the rest of the plans elements.

Here are some examples of weaknesses:

We are only winning 1 out of every 15 quotes.
Our ability to generate leads is non-existent.
We are taking too many unprofitable jobs.
Our truck (s) are not marketing our services
We want to do more profitable re-lamping work but we have no communication plan.
We have added only one big account in two years.
We don’t seem to know how to up-sell a job.
Our follow-up on quotations is poor.
We are not returning calls promptly.

After you have constructed your list of strengths and weaknesses you will need to establish your priorities. This should be a vote by all members of the team (A silent vote is the best so no one is intimidated). It may take a few votes and discussions, but the need to know the most important issues is critical to success. Remember, you will not have unlimited funds or manpower to correct or exploit everything listed. This is an additional reason to set priorities.

Threats and opportunities is another important part of the situation analysis section. This is where you list (if any) issues. They can be related to the economy, customers being purchased, key employees retiring or leaving the company, lack of sales to maintain key employees, new capital expenditures coming due, businesses relocating or closing, purchasing a competitor, etc.

OK, you have now experienced the first step in developing a realistic and workable marketing plan. Writing and creating the plan takes time. Expect to work on your first plan for about 10-15 working days (Obviously, this is spread out over time). Don’t rush the plan. Take the time to create the most effective profitable plan for your company.

There are four more parts to a working marketing plan. They are:

Part II – Goals & Objectives
Part III - Action Plans
Part IV – Timetable
Part V – Budget & Forecasting

Look for these articles in up coming newsletter emails.

Stan Rydzynski, Executive V.P., Channel Marketing Group, has over 35 years of experience in marketing/sales/product excellence in the electrical industry. The Channel Marketing Group provides strategic planning, marketing planning and market research for contractors, manufacturers and distributors with a focus on growth initiatives to accelerate performance. If you have a marketing/strategic planning question, you can contact Stan for a FREE consult at srydzynski@channelmkt.com or 516-319-1191. In addition, Stan conducts a 2-3 hour marketing/planning contractor seminar covering basic marketing concepts as well as teaching how to write an effective contractor marketing plan. Contact your local IEC, NECA chapters and/or your local distributor to arrange for him to conduct his highly effective and informative seminars.