2010 Marketing Strategy Planning Part 2

3. Decide how you will track response & ROI. These are two different things. In easy terms-response is the amount of action you see off of a type of marketing, ROI is the actual return on investment. If a piece of advertising brings in 400 people and you sell 0 cars, you have $0 ROI. 4. Draw up a calendar. Get an actual 2010 calendar out and look through the year. Plot tentative dates for your annual events, or for campaigns you tend to have good luck with or want to try. Think about holidays and how they will affect your efforts. 5. Call in the experts. Once you have a general idea of your annual spend & a basic calendar start planning with your consultants now. Giving a heads up to people like me, your TV/Radio rep, agency account exec and anyone else who helps design, place and execute your marketing can only be a good thing. Many of us work under such tight deadlines there is no time for custom creative ideas based on a complete marketing picture. Cluing us in early on will allow thought and planning to go into the ideas we bring you. 6. Finally, set up your plan. This 2010 strategy is flexible. Hold yourself & your team accountable to tracking all your marketing. Set realistic expectations as to what outcomes you are looking for. Be ready to change things that aren't working. Keep notes for next year's planning. There is no better time than December for getting these plans in place.