How to Create a Marketing Plan for 2019 | Ep.#856

TL;DR

Plan effectively for 2019 by reviewing past successes and failures.

Transcript

welcome to another episode of marketing school I'm Eric Hsu and I'm Neil Patel and today we're gonna talk about how to create a marketing plan for 2019 so the new year is coming up 2019 is approaching fast and furious so I'll Jenna there's a couple things that I like to do with my team and Anil can talk about what he likes to do and we'll kind of g... Read More

Key Insights

• Utilize the book 'Traction' for structuring your marketing plan, focusing on quarterly goals and big issues to address.
• Review previous year's successes and failures to guide future strategies, ensuring continuous growth and improvement.
• Emphasize scaling up successful strategies while documenting and learning from failed marketing experiments.
• Focus on increasing the lifetime value of customers through upsells, downsells, and optimizing conversion funnels.
• Explore new marketing channels cautiously, aiming to be an early adopter rather than the first mover.
• Ask critical questions about your strategies, such as what to improve, eliminate, or learn from other industries and competitors.
• For new businesses, experiment with multiple marketing tactics, focusing on those that show promise and scaling them up.
• The podcast aims to reach 1 million downloads monthly, offering a free live event in L.A. upon achieving this goal.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the main resource recommended for structuring a marketing plan?

The main resource recommended is the book 'Traction,' which provides an Entrepreneur's Operating System. This book helps in structuring the marketing plan by focusing on quarterly goals, addressing big issues, and guiding the team through a systematic approach to achieve set objectives.

Q: How should businesses handle past marketing successes and failures?

Businesses should review past marketing successes to scale up effective strategies and document failures to learn from them. This involves analyzing what worked, what didn't, and why, ensuring that future plans are informed by previous experiences to enhance growth and avoid repeating mistakes.

Q: What strategies are suggested for increasing customer lifetime value?

To increase customer lifetime value, businesses should focus on optimizing conversion rates and employing strategies like upsells, downsells, and cross-sells. Additionally, creating and optimizing sales funnels are crucial components of a marketing plan aimed at maximizing the revenue generated from each customer.

Q: Why is it important to explore new marketing channels cautiously?

Exploring new marketing channels cautiously is important to avoid wasting time and resources on unproven methods. The goal is to be an early adopter rather than the first mover, ensuring that the channel has potential before investing heavily. This approach minimizes risk and maximizes potential returns.

Q: What critical questions should businesses ask about their marketing strategies?

Businesses should ask questions about what extreme measures they can take, what existing strategies can be enhanced, what should be eliminated, and what ideas can be borrowed from other industries or competitors. These questions help in refining strategies, focusing efforts, and fostering innovation in marketing approaches.

Q: How should new businesses approach their marketing tactics?

New businesses should experiment with multiple marketing tactics, treating them like spaghetti thrown against the wall to see what sticks. Initially, they should try various approaches, focusing on scaling up the tactics that show promise. This trial-and-error method helps in identifying effective strategies without overcommitting resources prematurely.

Q: What is the goal of the Marketing School podcast in terms of audience engagement?

The Marketing School podcast aims to reach 1 million downloads per month. To engage the audience and reach this milestone, the podcast encourages listeners to rate, review, subscribe, and share the content. Achieving this goal will result in a free live event in Los Angeles for the audience.

Q: How can businesses benefit from learning from other industries?

Businesses can benefit from learning from other industries by adopting innovative ideas and strategies that can be applied to their own business. This cross-industry learning allows companies to gain fresh perspectives, adapt successful practices, and potentially discover unique competitive advantages that can set them apart in their market.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Episode #856 of Marketing School discusses strategies for creating an effective marketing plan for 2019. Eric Sui and Neil Patel emphasize the importance of reviewing past successes and failures, scaling up what works, and cautiously exploring new marketing channels.

• The episode highlights the significance of increasing customer lifetime value through various sales strategies and optimizing conversion rates. Additionally, it advises businesses to ask critical questions about their strategies and learn from other industries and competitors.

• New businesses are encouraged to experiment with multiple marketing tactics, focusing on those that work and scaling them up. The podcast also promotes a free live event in Los Angeles, contingent on reaching 1 million downloads a month.