Worcester Business Journal

18 Worcester Business Journal | November 27, 2017 | wbjournal.com 10 T H I NG S I know about . . . Why you should start a Worcester business By Sherri Pitcher Pitcher is the vice president of business development for Leominster-based Fidelity Bank. K N O W H O W How to create a marketing plan I t's happened to all of us: a perfect storm of projects with the same – or nearly the same – deadline. Maybe you hadn't planned it that way, but a project got off track and now aligns with another's timeline … and another. Then upper management sur- prises you with another large task to present to your team. It's easy to won- der how, or even to doubt you'll get it all done. But, after a deep breath, these tips may help. Define project tasks, then focus. Begin with a project needing the most attention, whether it's the closest dead- line or largest client or most profitable account. Now focus on that, says Heidi K. Gardner and Mark Mortensen, at Harvard Business Review. Decide on must-achieve outcomes and "define which actions are necessary to achieve only those results, and ruthlessly stick to them," the article states. The reason for that is valuable mental space can be taken up by switching your focus from project to project. "The fewer switches you can make in a given day, the better." Put on the breaks. Take a break, suggests Mike Clayton at ProjectManager.com. It's not just for your sanity. It's also to mark the change when you are switching projects or switching your role in a project. Mentally, your brain will be able to leave the last task behind and focus on the new one at hand. Manage your manager. When jug- gling projects, prioritize your task list and before communicating to your team, ensure senior management's pri- orities are in line with yours. Keep communication open ProjectManagementAcademy.net suggests keeping it short and sweet, but "the more your manager knows about what you're working on and how long it will likely take, the better off you'll be." BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal 10 1: J u g g l i n g p r o j e c t s 10) Diverse and stable economy. Worcester is home to companies of all sizes from various industries including manufacturing, life sciences, education, healthcare and financial services. 9) Collaborative business community. Worcester has resources fostering our entrepreneurial ecosystem including co-working and maker spaces, incubators and business support groups. 8) Ease of doing business Worcester. The city has a streamlined permitting process, incentives and resources for business development, site selection and financing. 7) Affordable. The cost of doing business in Worcester is lower than nearby cities while offering the same amenities of a larger city like Boston. 6) Housing options. Worcester offers many choices from luxury apartments to single-family homes. With home values on the rise (5.7% over last year), Worcester remains affordable with a median cost of $218,000. 5) State-of-the-art connectivity. Worcester has fiber loops throughout the city and downtown. 4) Accessible, central location. Worcester's location is less than an hour's drive to Boston, Providence and Hartford. Union Station is an intermodal transportation hub. Ofo, Worcester's new bikeshare service, offers workers an additional option. 3) Educated workforce. With 12 colleges in the region, Worcester brings an estimated 36,000 students to the city. Clark University (#29) and Worcester Polytechnic (#49) made U.S. News and World Report's list of best value colleges. 2) Quality of life. Worcester is home to more than 65 arts and cultural venues including award-winning museums, art galleries and theatres as well as a vibrant club and dining scene. 1) Caring business community. Worcester has a long history of supporting its many nonprofits. BY LAURA DiBENEDETTO Special to the Worcester Business Journal W W H ouses are built with blue- prints; businesses are built with plans. Plans make the difference. Creating a win- ning marketing plan is to work within realistic goals, resources and options. This drives results. The best, most user- friendly plans contain: • A spreadsheet listing each activity with the corresponding budget for each item. • A calendar of activities, themes and content distribution • Supporting documentation explain- ing who, what, where, why, when and how. Even if you work alone, you'll want detailed notes to reference when the planning process is a distant memory. Here are the steps to build your mar- keting plan after you've identified your target audience. 1. Define goals Decide what you realistically want to, can and must accomplish via market- ing. Explain what the finish line looks like. Quantify amounts, percentages, sales volumes, growth rates, etc. Be spe- cific about what you want to achieve. 2. Specify resources Take inventory of your resources. What skills can you contribute? How many hours can you invest weekly? Multiply that by 4.3 for monthly. How much money can you invest monthly into programs, third-party costs and skilled labor? Laura DiBenedetto is the CEO of Vision Advertising, a Worcester marketing firm established in 1999. 3. List options & potential results Three ways to discover options: collaborate with an expert (hire a pro for an hour or two), crowdsource information to find what others are doing in similar circumstances (Facebook and LinkedIn groups are good options), and Google. Be sure to uncover what potential result you are likely to expect from each item, and what investment is required to get it. 4. Decide Determine what fits into the plan based on goals, resources and options available. Omit anything requiring large resources for small returns; beware of things promising large returns for small investments. Marketing requires resources – find things offering realistic returns for realistic investments. 5. Assemble a package Create a spreadsheet of monthly action items, and build in all resources needed: time, skill and money (all expected expenses). Create a monthly calendar and plan when you'll do what, based on the time available specified in step 2. If business and resources war- rant it, plan weekly, or even daily. Create a companion guide detailing rationale, strategy, roles and other per- tinent details. 6. Act Execute your plan, evaluating perfor- mance on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis. 7. Revise & repeat Based on the performance metrics you discover along the way, revise your plan and adjust based on original goals. Periodically revisit the steps as your business grows, your needs and/or resources change, and as your market- ing plan produces results. Bottom Line Sound good? Plan to invest 40-50 hours (+/-), depending on the size and complexity of your business. If you dedicate a full day a week to it, you'll need about five to six weeks. Not for you? Qualified marketing experts can easily facilitate the smooth creation of a plan either by taking the lead on the project, supporting in the background, or simply doing it for you. At the end of the day, no matter who creates it – just make sure it gets done! W

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