WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR MARKETING PLAN DOESN'T GO TO PLAN

I don't think I’ve ever had a 90-day marketing plan go exactly as planned.

Even now, after nearly 18 years in marketing, something always crops up and throws a spanner in the works. 

This quarter for example, we pursued an exciting new opportunity which led the business in a new direction. This meant we had to completely revise our 90-day marketing plan in week 6. We identified a new ideal customer and created a new product at around week 8. And then at week 10 Katie was off ill with covid for a week which meant lots of tasks had to be rolled over to the following week.

Despite all of this, this quarter has been our best in a long time!  

It’s always important to be reminded that, just because things haven’t gone to plan, doesn't mean you’ve failed. 

So when things aren’t going to plan, how do you get things back on track again? Well, when spanners pop up, you have 3 options… 

1. Block out some time in your diary to catch up on the marketing activities you’ve fallen behind on.
2. Take a step back, draw a line under whatever you have completed and create a new plan for the rest.
3. Change the dates at the top of your planner and just keep going.

To work out which of these options is right for you and your business, you need to ask yourself this question…

“What can I realistically achieve between now and the end of the quarter”

If you’re only a week behind and it’s week 3 or 4 then it's definitely worth blocking out some time and trying to catch up to save yourself the hassle of creating a new plan. But, if you have 4 weeks left of the quarter, you’re 6 weeks behind, and your diary is fully booked until the end of the period, then you won’t catch up. Putting pressure on yourself to complete an unachievable plan just isn’t helpful. 

Having a marketing plan is not about trying to push yourself (or your team) to keep going. It's really about getting the best outcome in the long term. It’s also important to learn from the things that didn't work well so we can avoid making those errors again. And if that means going “you know what, this whole month has gone to pot”, then so be it. Sometimes it's best to take a break, regroup and look at it again on Monday. 

As Harry S Truman said, “Imperfect action is better than perfect inaction.”

When your plan isn’t going exactly as you expected it can quickly start to feel overwhelming. If you’d like some help getting back on track, book your free Clarity Call with me today so we can work out the best next steps.