Developing,Web,Site,Marketing, marketing Developing a Web Site Marketing Plan

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Developing a Web Site Marketing PlanPart One of a Four Part SeriesBased on "How Much for Just the Spider?"by Bobette KyleFor many of us, finding the time and commitment to complete amarketing plan for our Web sites is difficult. There are so manyother obligations vying for our attention it is tempting to pushplanning to the back burner. Giving into that temptation,however, means putting your business at a disadvantage. Yourmarketing plan is the compass by which you navigate. Asopportunities arise or your business environment changes, theobjective and strategies in your marketing plan will point youtoward the best action. Without a marketing plan, you riskbecoming unfocused in your marketing and are only guessing whatmight be best for your business.In this article, you will learn the parts to a marketing plan. Iwill also point you to some marketing plan resources. In partstwo through four of the series, I will discuss objectives,strategies, and tactics for your Web site marketing plan.To be most effective, your Web site marketing plan should be apart of your business marketing plan. By aligning onlinemarketing with your offline efforts, you can better achieveoverall company objectives. Additionally, you will present aconsistent style and message across all points of contact withyour target audience.Your Web site marketing plan's focus will be partially determinedby your site's status. If you already have a site in place, yourplan can focus strictly on marketing issues - how to mosteffectively market using your existing site. If you have a sitethat needs improvement, your plan should incorporate enhancementsinto the site’s design in conjunction with marketing activities(While you may not think of these enhancements as "marketing", inthis case, they are instrumental to an effective plan.). If youdo not yet have a site, you can create one while developing yourWeb site marketing plan, with your plan focused on launching thesite. In any case, remember that your objective, strategies, andtactics will change over time as your situation and focus change.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Parts of a Marketing Plan~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Web site marketing plan is similar to a business marketingplan, but with a narrower focus. Completing a marketing planincludes developing strategies and tactics (also called actionplans) that, when implemented, will help you reach your marketingobjectives. Objectives, strategies, and tactics are eachprogressively narrower in scope.The objective addresses the "big picture". In general terms, yourobjective answers the question "How will I overcome my mainmarketing challenge(s)?" If your company’s main site- relatedchallenge is figuring out how to use your Web site to help buildclient business, for example, an objective for your Web sitemarketing plan could be "To enhance online client service as wellas build site awareness and interest with clients."Strategies support your objective. Your strategies define thegeneral approaches you will take to meet your objective. Forexample, strategies to support the above objective could include1) improve online communication, information, and education, 2)build awareness of and interest in your company on the Internet,and 3) communicate the Web site’s existence and advantages toexisting clients.Tactics are where the action takes place - these are the thingsyou will do to bring your strategies to life. Tactics forstrategy 2 in the above example (improve online communication,information, and education) could include 1) sharing experienceand observations in your industry through participation indiscussion boards, 2) offering an email newsletter, and 3)listing/submitting your site to targeted search engines anddirectories.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Marketing Planning Tools~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The specifics of developing a marketing plan vary according tothe source. All can be effective when used correctly. Some sitesand software that can help you in developing your marketing planare below.SiteseSOLO’s Marketing Action Plans,http://www.esolo.com/mapslist.php3 , can help you to come up withstrategies and action plans (tactics) to support common marketingobjectives.The Web Site Marketing Plan's Marketing Plan Resources page,http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/sr3.htm , includes severallinks and descriptions of sites with marketing plan information.SoftwareEach of these software titles takes a slightly different approachto developing a marketing plan.- Plan Write® for Marketing,http://www.businessplansoftware.org/marketing_plan.asp- WebQuest Pro, http://www.webquestpro.com/- Marketing Plan Pro, http://www.bplans.com/marketingplans~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Other Articles in this Series~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In this, the first article of the series, I discussed theelements of a marketing plan - objective, strategies, andtactics. In the remaining three articles I will take a closerlook at objectives, strategies, and tactics you can consider foryour Web site.Part Two: "Your Web Site's Objectives"http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/sr8.htm autoresponder:mailto:[email protected] Three: "Strategies for Your Web Site Marketing Plan"http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/strategies.htm autoresponder:mailto:[email protected] Four: "Choosing Tactics for Your Web Site Marketing Plan"http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/TacticsArticle.htmautoresponder: mailto:[email protected]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Copyright 2002 Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved.