Step 1: Performing a Marketing Assessment

Source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image created by Yaron Jeroen van Oostrom

Whether you are coming from the client or the agency, it is important that both parties discuss overall goals and objectives upfront before developing a campaign strategy. Spending a meeting (or two) upfront going over the big picture and mutually understanding the overall business goals and challenges will save everyone down the road from having to spend a lot of time (and potential heartache) fixing things after the campaign launches.

Below is an assessment questionnaire for you to use as you begin the process of developing your strategic marketing plan. This is a great resource to go through question by question (hopefully with your business stakeholders or agency client) in order to guide everyone through the strategic planning process. Although there are a number of questions that could be added here, hopefully the questions below will get you started in the planning process.

Define your Audience

• Who is your primary/secondary audience?
• Describe your typical customer (demographics).
• Describe a typical customer’s level of technical expertise (early adopter, proficient)
• What is your customer turnover rate?
• Do you know what customer turnover is attributed to? (pricing, service)
• How do you see your audience evolving?
• How do you measure customer satisfaction?

Competition

• Who are your competitors?
• What are their strengths and weaknesses?
• How do you position yourself against your competitors?
• What is the largest opportunity and threat in your industry?
• What are your competitors doing online?

(more…)