12 Rules for Marketing Planning & Budgeting

In 2010, good, well-placed advertising will still work. And social media will still be a distraction to deal with. Someday soon, it may be silver bullet. But for now, it’s very hard to build visitations or occupancy, day in and day out, by just inviting your fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter. The numbers simply don’t support it.

Here are 12 rules to follow as you plan and budget for the coming year:

1. Don’t forget to plan just because your world stopped spinning during the recession. If you throw planning and process out the window, you will end up paying dearly for it when the market rebounds - which it will eventually do.
2. Look before you leap. If ever there was a year to start at the beginning and completely reevaluate your current plan and budget, this is it.
3. Chances are, your budget has been decimated. Go get the dollars re-allocated so you can help attract the business you need.
4. Get your best practices lined up, and make sure you execute better than the competition.
5. During recessions, high-end brands dip down and low end brands go for the jugular with deep discounts. Bold, aggressive competitors may have become more so, new competitors may have appeared, and old competitors may have vanished. Make sure you update your assessment of the competitive landscape and your position in it.
6. Knowing that your customer has changed, get to know them again and make sure you adjust your message and your media plan to address their new reality.
7. If you have to cut, cut experimentation first and focus on the things that do the heaving lifting.
8. If you have adequate budget, allocate some “experimentation” dollars to emerging media and tactics that have potential. But don’t over-invest, unless you have evidence of real ROI potential.
9. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that advertising doesn’t work anymore. The way you advertise should change, but if you cut out advertising altogether, your customer stream is going to trickle.
10. Make sure your web content is deep and your search engine optimization is on game. Your website should be the center of your marketing presence.
11. Its important to pay attention to social media. But don’t fall prey to monkey see, monkey do. Just because a lot of people are tweeting doesn’t mean it will drive the numbers you need to be successful.
12. Don’t forget to consider the mobile medium and getting your feet wet. The medium shows great promise.