\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Now imagine yourself, stuck in your office, looking out the frosty window at the snow-covered ground. It\u2019s an undisturbed, glistening field of white. A blank canvas. So you think, \u201c<\/span>Sure would be a good day to pack it up and go home to make snow angels with the kids.<\/span><\/i>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Maybe in a bit\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n But that field of white also reminds you of the year ahead of you. Undisturbed and full of possibilities. <\/span><\/p>\n You say aloud (<\/span>to no one in particular<\/span><\/i>), \u201c<\/span>Maybe this would be a good time to put this year\u2019s marketing plan together. The phone\u2019s not ringing, and nobody\u2019s around to take my calls anyway…<\/span><\/i>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n So you sit down with <\/span>a pad of paper and pen<\/span><\/a> and start scratching out ideas. <\/span><\/p>\n Now, depending on what type of marketer you are, this exercise could serve you well and lay out a path that moves you and your company further ahead\u2026 Or your marketing wheels could just slip into the same rut your marketing has been running in and get you nowhere.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s here I\u2019d like to introduce two <\/span>fictional<\/span><\/a> marketers I\u2019ve come up with to help illustrate two sides of the road that us marketers can find ourselves on.<\/span><\/p>\n One side moves you closer to (or beyond) your business goals, and the other leads you nowhere. <\/span><\/p>\n Which side are you on?<\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019ll need to keep reading to find out\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#f1e8dd” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”justified” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”http:\/\/www.visualconstructionmarketing.com\/2014\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/tom.png” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”fade_in” sticky=”off” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”justified” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019s it going? I\u2019m Tom, and I\u2019ve been marketing for a mid-size building product manufacturer for about 7 years now. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n I worked construction while I was in business school and it just sorta\u2019 made sense. You know – take what I learned in college and put it to work for a great company in the building industry.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n We\u2019ve got AWESOME products, and I learned a lot from the guy who was doing the marketing before me. He retired about a year after I started, but he taught me everything he could about how they like to do their marketing.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n I had a few ideas and suggestions I thought we should try\u2026 But he reminded me that I was new to the game and they knew what the prospects expected to see. Plus the boss was happy with the way we were doing things\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n So, for the past 5 or 6 years, I\u2019ve been working his marketing system and mixing in some of the stuff they taught us in school.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n I\u2019m doing my best to keep up and make sure we\u2019re crossing all the i\u2019s and dotting all the t\u2019s (ha-ha), but we just don\u2019t seem to be getting specified or used on projects like we used to. I can\u2019t figure out why they don\u2019t get that our product is still the best out there.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The boss isn\u2019t quite sure what to make of it either, and, frankly, I\u2019m worried he\u2019ll start thinking it\u2019s <\/span><\/i>my<\/span><\/i> fault. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n I\u2019ll just need to start getting us out to more of those tradeshows and maybe get some bigger signs made for our booth…\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#d1d1d1″ allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”justified” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”sally headshot” src=”http:\/\/www.visualconstructionmarketing.com\/2014\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/sally.png” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”fade_in” sticky=”off” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”sally blurb” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”justified” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n \u201cHi, I\u2019m Sally. After I graduated from design school about 9 years ago, I worked with a great architecture firm for about 2 years.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n I loved the people I worked with, and I <\/span><\/i>really<\/span><\/i> loved the clients I had the chance to meet. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Our firm made sure their building projects met all of their needs. And as an added bonus, we were able to give them a design that delighted the owners, their staff, and their customers.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n I never really thought of myself as a salesperson, but a product rep saw how the clients responded to me, and the joy I got from working with each of them. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n He called me the next week and offered me this job. I\u2019ve been on Cloud Nine ever since\u2026 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Of course, I had to learn a lot about marketing, but it didn\u2019t take too long. You see, my mentor showed me that I was already doing a lot of the \u201cright stuff\u201d in my design career. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n It\u2019s really all about getting to know your clients, and what they really want and need. Then you find the best ways to show them how your products can help them reach those goals.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n We\u2019re always keeping our eyes open for new ways to \u201cmeet our clients where they\u2019re going to be.\u201d By that, I mean the business & marketing worlds are changing fast, and our prospects & clients are changing, too. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n If we\u2019re truly going to find them and help them succeed, we need to know where they are now, and where they\u2019re headed. (Don\u2019t worry, I\u2019m not a big hockey fan, so I won\u2019t use that worn-out Gretzky quote\u2026) \u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n I\u2019m really looking forward to the year ahead and helping solve our new and existing clients\u2019 biggest headaches.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”justified” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n So, now we\u2019re back to your office, looking out at the snow and writing our marketing plan for the year.<\/span><\/p>\n Where do you start?<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re like Tom, this task is pretty easy. You just pull out last year\u2019s plan, scratch out \u201c2015\u201d at the top and write in \u201c2016.\u201d \u00a0Piece of cake — What\u2019s next?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n But if you\u2019re more like Sally, you\u2019ll surely want to take more time to think things through before you come up with your plan. Let\u2019s hear what Sally has to say:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLooking back over last year, I can see a lot of the things we did right, but we can certainly do better in other areas.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n For instance, I got a call from a prospect that was having a hard time finding some information on our website. I knew right where to find it, but I could definitely see how it would be hard for somebody new to the site to figure it out.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n That\u2019s definitely something we can, and should, fix. I\u2019ll get somebody on board to help look at our site\u2019s user experience and clean it up.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n I\u2019ve also been reading some interesting articles on how we can <\/span><\/i>be more green in our marketing efforts<\/span><\/i><\/a>. Show our prospects and our clients that we\u2019re serious about our commitment to help make our environment better for the future generations.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n And don\u2019t get me started on social media\u2026 It\u2019s a moving target, but we definitely need to keep working that into our plan and make sure we\u2019re educating and engaging with our prospects.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n I can definitely see we\u2019ve got some adjustments to make for this year\u2019s plan\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Takeaway<\/b>: The key to creating a smart marketing plan is to keep a close eye on what\u2019s happening in your industry, constantly reflecting on what works well for your clients, and being flexible enough to adjust. <\/span><\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve got the groundwork laid out in front of you and you can see what areas you need to develop, you can move on to the next step — Mapping out your marketing plan.<\/span><\/p>\n Again, this is where Tom has it easy. The cookie-cutter plan is already there, and he just needs to make a few tweaks in order to apply it to the current year. As Tom likes to say:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>We\u2019ve always done things this way<\/span><\/i><\/a>, and it\u2019s the way the boss wants it done.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n For Sally, this step takes a little longer, but she knows it\u2019s worth it in the long run\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I\u2019m mapping out my marketing plan, I like to focus on<\/span><\/i> creating value<\/i><\/b>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n To be clear, that includes value for my prospects; value for my existing clients; and value for our company.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The best way I\u2019ve heard to do this effectively comes from Dean Jackson. Dean\u2019s the co-founder of the incredible \u2018I Love Marketing\u2019 podcast and he describes it as \u2018<\/span><\/i>Before, During and After Unit Thinking<\/span><\/i><\/a>.\u2019<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Using this marketing thought process has helped ensure we focus our marketing efforts. Focused on how we can provide the greatest amount of value to our clients throughout the entire relationship. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Instead of just selling one-off <\/span><\/i>transactions<\/span><\/i> to our customers, we want to create <\/span><\/i>transformational relationships<\/span><\/i><\/a> with each of our clients.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Takeaway<\/b>: If you want a marketing plan that goes beyond simply making a good showing, you need to look at the bigger picture. Look at how you can create the greatest value for everyone involved. And make it a lasting value, so you will become a trusted resource to your clients.<\/span><\/p>\n Today\u2019s building materials marketplace is changing, and it\u2019s critical that marketers in our industry adjust their efforts and strategies to match. <\/span>Are you prepared<\/span>?<\/span><\/p>\n If you aren\u2019t already, you need to clearly define who your target prospects are and make sure your marketing is speaking their <\/span>language<\/span><\/a>. As tedious as it may sound, it\u2019s critical to your marketing success to know your audience and provide them with the proper support and education they need to succeed.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"building](\"http:\/\/www.visualconstructionmarketing.com\/2014\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/snowyy-window-1024x531.jpg\")
<\/span><\/p>\nMaking the right plans\u2026<\/h3>\n
Meet Tom<\/h3>\n
Meet\u00a0Sally<\/h3>\n
Planning your work\u2026<\/h3>\n
\n
Mapping it out\u2026<\/h3>\n
Conclusion<\/h3>\n