How to Market Your Business: Creating a Small Business Marketing Plan

Every small business owner faces the challenge of standing out in a crowded marketplace. Whether launching a startup or scaling an established brand, knowing how to effectively market your business is critical to its success. The backbone of any successful marketing effort? A thoughtful, actionable small business marketing plan.

What is a small business marketing plan?

A marketing plan is a strategic blueprint that outlines your target audience, promotional goals, messaging, tactics, timelines and budget. It’s your roadmap to attracting customers, boosting sales and building lasting brand loyalty.

If you don’t know how to create a marketing plan, your efforts may lack focus and consistency, waste resources and lead to missed opportunities. Research, creative thinking and ongoing campaign optimization are key elements. But the payoff for understanding how to market your business — a steady pipeline of qualified leads and loyal clients — makes it well worth the effort.

Follow best practices to effectively market your business.

Before you can develop an effective small business marketing plan, you need to understand your brand, audience and goals. Following step-by-step best practices tailored to your objectives helps set the stage for marketing success.

1. Define your target audience.

   Knowing your customers is the first (and, most important) step in creating a business plan. It is also a critical component of the marketing plan. There are specific questions you should be able to answer.
   • What problems do my products or services solve?
   • Who benefits most from what I offer?
   • What are their demographics (age, location, income, interests)?
   • Where do they spend time online and offline?

   Creating detailed customer personas can help you visualize ideal clients and tailor your marketing messages for maximum impact.

2. Analyze your competitors.

   Study your main competitors. What channels do they use to reach customers? What are their strengths and weaknesses? When you understand the competitive landscape, you can spot gaps in the market and know how to create a marketing plan that uniquely positions your business.

3. Set clear, measurable marketing goals.

   Effective marketing is goal-driven. Set SMART goals — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. For instance, you might want to:
   • Increase website traffic by 25% in six months.
   • Generate 100 new leads per month.
   • Grow your social media following by 500 followers per quarter.

   Clear goals make it easier to track progress and adjust your marketing strategies as needed.

4. Choose your marketing channels and establish a content strategy.

   All marketing channels aren’t created equal. Select the ones that make sense for your audience, budget and goals.
   • Websites and blogs are online hubs for sharing information and capturing leads.
   • Social media builds relationships, showcases your brand personality and helps to engage with your audience.
   • Email marketing provides lead nurturing and encourages repeat business when featuring personalized content and offers.
   • Search engine marketing (SEO & PPC) improves your business’ visibility on Google, Bing and Yahoo, and drives targeted traffic to your site.
   • Local marketing connects your business to nearby customers via local SEO, events and partnerships.

   When considering channels, don’t overlook traditional marketing such as direct mail, print ads, radio or TV if they fit your market.

5. Set key performance indicators (KPIs) for each channel.

   Tracking results for each marketing channel is critical to improving your marketing plan over time. KPIs to monitor channel performance include industry established metrics.
   • Website traffic and user behavior
   • Lead generation (form fills, calls, downloads)
   • Conversion rates (visitors to leads, leads to customers)
   • Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
   • Return on investment (ROI)
   • Social media engagement
   • Email open and click-through rates

   Use free tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights and email marketing dashboards to analyze what’s working and where you can improve.

6. Establish a realistic marketing budget.

   Determine how much you can invest in marketing. Allocate your budget based on which channels are likely to provide the best ROI. Keep some funds available for testing and scaling successful campaigns.

7. Create a timeline and assign responsibilities.

   A marketing plan is only as effective as its execution. Build a calendar that details key campaigns, responsibilities and deadlines. Hold team members (and yourself) accountable for knowing how to market your business and delivering each element on schedule.

8. Evaluate and refine marketing campaigns based on data.

   Consistently assess and refine your marketing campaigns, analyzing data-driven results and identifying areas for improvement. Use A/B testing and performance metrics to optimize messaging, creative elements and audience targeting for greater impact. Also listen to customer feedback from surveys and other communication. Adapting your marketing approach will ensure your efforts maximize ROI.

Marketing is about building a brand that earns trust and loyalty. Start with the basics: Know your audience, craft your message and choose the right channels. Monitor your efforts and adapt as you grow.

Avoid common marketing mistakes.

Understanding how to market your business is an ongoing process. Even well-intentioned business owners sometimes miss the mark. Don’t attempt to be everywhere at once. Focus on the channels that matter most to your audience. Be patient; branding and relationship-building take time.

• Ensure your website and emails look good and optimize for every device your prospects and customers use.
• Make data-driven decisions that are based on analytics rather than guesswork.
• Differentiate your business — find your unique angle and highlight it in everything you do.
• Stay consistent to reach long-term goals. Don’t give up too soon.

Avoiding common mistakes early on will save precious time and resources.

Create a successful small business marketing plan.

With a solid marketing plan, you’ll know how to market your business and be ready to attract new customers. We can help. Synovus is an SBA Preferred Lender that is committed to helping small business owners achieve their goals. For assistance funding your marketing plan, contact a Synovus Business Banker, call 1-888-SYNOVUS (1-888-796-6887) or stop by one of our local branches.