Developing a Marketing Communication Plan

A marketing communication plan (or marcom plan) is a plan to communicate your marketing messages to your target customer audience. It is one component of your overall marketing plan (which also includes strategy, competitive analysis, etc).

You can have the best strategy and positioning in the world, but if you don’t effectively communicate it to your target customers your business will fail regardless.

What makes a strong marketing communications strategy and plan?

It’s actually pretty simple. There are really three key ingredients:

1. Start with a solid marketing strategy: understand your market, understand your customers, understand your competition, and understand your unique selling proposition (USP).
2. Have crisp, compelling messages that will resonate with your target customers.
   • Address an immediate need or issue,
   • Develop clear benefit statements (not just features),
   • Create a strong brand with a memorable business name,
   • Use a key message as an eye-catching tagline that will market you for free.
3. Cover all primary communication channels that your customers rely on for their information.

There are many channels you could choose to communicate your message. Focus on those venues and vehicles where your best target customers gather or go for solutions to their problem.

These are just some possible tactics you could include in your marcom plan:

• Print publications (advertising or articles);
• Online communications (website, blogs, forums, email);
• Conferences and tradeshows;
• Press releases and other public relations materials;
• Brochures, case studies, and other marketing and sales tools;
• Corporate identity materials including business cards, letterhead, logo and envelopes;
• Direct mail pieces, such as postcard mailings;
• Customer surveys;
• Signage (eg, at tradeshow booths);
• Speeches and presentations.

Remember that your marketing communications plan should be reasonably broad in order to be effective. Relying solely on a single communication vehicle is not likely to produce good results.

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