TRO has devoted the last few weeks to assisting agents in developing a 2009 Marketing Plan. Follow along with us each day to gain the traction you need to make 2009 your best year ever.
It is time to begin to tie your Marketing Plan back into your overall business plan – to make sure that it is realistic with regard to your budgets and overall capabilities. You want to make certain that your goals are measurable and achievable. Along with your Marketing Calendar, you can then ensure that your goals are time specific and feasible.
If you already have a year or more of travel consulting history behind you, the financial elements such as annual sales revenue, expenses and anticipated profit may well be established. However, it is important to now work your marketing plans into those goals. Your marketing plan, though it may increase some of your expenses, will also increase your revenues. Again, this is where your marketing calendar is so important. Use it as a way of tracking your anticipated progress and review it often. If you are not hitting your marks, both with regard to planned marketing and to your revenue goals, you can quickly adjust.
You can develop your marketing budget with overall projections that you then fill in with details. Fortunately, you set out this year to market utilizing methods that required more effort than financial resources, so you may discover that this year’s budget has not changed markedly over last year’s. The important point here is that you must, however, support your sales goals. Each effort in your marketing plan has TWO financial impacts – one as an expense and one on your incoming revenue. For each undertaking in your marketing plan, calculate both – what will it “cost” and what revenues should result. In this way, you will keep each marketing expenditure in the context of an investment…not merely an expense. If your marketing plan calls for placing advertisements in a local newsletter, then commit to a suitable duration and effort and indicate your anticipated revenue from the effort. If you decided on the development of a niche market for your travel practice, spend time considering the financial impact of that commitment. Review every commitment you have made over the course of the last few weeks and assign a financial number to it and specifically designate how it supports your revenue efforts. Indicate your expectations by tying the expense into the acquisition of business. In this manner you will hold your plan and its performance accountable.
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