Journal

Have you got a plan?

Business plan

We believe that the key to success in any business or organisation is very simple, PLAN, DO, MEASURE, REPEAT. Unfortunately, most businesses and organisations tend to skip one or two of these, usually in favour of just “doing something”. They will create a website, an advert or leaflet, or perhaps attend an event or dabble on social media platforms. However, a lot of time and money can be wasted on this “just do something” approach as it is often just a rushed reaction to meet someone else’s deadline.

Don’t fail to consider why you are doing something, who it is targeted at, when you should do it, how much it will cost – and most importantly – how will you measure and evaluate the activity.

If you first create a plan which outlines your goals and gives you a structure to what needs to be done with clear “SMART” objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timed), then you stand a significantly greater chance of success. This policy of PLAN, DO, MEASURE, REPEAT will enable you to maximise your resources, avoid wasted effort/budget and allow you a continual ability to improve and adapt to the constantly changing business world. Don’t rely on doing things in the same way that you have always done them and expect the same results. Careful planning, execution, evaluation and adaption to your marketing activity is significantly more likely to gain a greater return on your investment and make the whole process easier to manage – and in my experience more enjoyable as well!