Following on from the success of our 1-day masterclass for Scaleup North East which focuses on the principles of Strategic Marketing we decided that a 5-day programme which would allow participants to build up their strategic marketing plan with full support was the next step.
One of the tangible benefits of documenting your strategic marketing plan is that it forces you to consider all the issues and come up with strategic answers, as well as driving collaboration among all stakeholders, and it will help to align the team going forward.
We know your time is valuable and we want you to get the most out of this programme so in addition to the five structured days we are offering two extra 'personal' one-to-one support sessions. These include a 'Pre-Planning' Meet-Up and a a 'Post-Planning' Surgery which equates to an extra 8 hours consultancy per company.
In the 2 hour Meet-Up, we want to get to know you, your business and your strategy to make sure you do get the most out of the programme from day 1 and that it can be geared to your specific needs.
We offer the 'Post-Planning' surgery as in our experience, it is not the plan that fails, but it is the execution of the plan that hinders success. The strategy, the plan and the execution are equally important as they stand together, but all of them will be marginalised if they are left to stand alone. Therefore in the follow-up sessions, we will offer some suggestions to strengthen any potential weaknesses in the plan and provide tips on how to manage its integration into your business.
In the structured five-days, you will be working on your strategic marketing plan and you will benefit from the perspective of your peer group. You will be able to bounce ideas off them, and they, in turn, may challenge your thinking. Ensuring the outcome will be far more successful than you would have achieved doing it in isolation.
Spending time on your Strategic Marketing plan will contribute to the success of your business as you scale up. It's so easy to get excited about all the options without thinking about the fundamentals, and a strategic marketing plan will help to keep your focus.
This is a five-day programme over six weeks starting Wed 18 March and finishing Wed 29 April with additional support time. The programme will guide you through the preparation of a Strategic Marketing Plan for your scale-up business.
Moving from organic growth to accelerated growth to meet scale-up ambitions requires a focused and targeted marketing strategy to drive sales and attract new customers.
You will understand the components of a strategic marketing plan and be guided through writing the plan to meet the needs of your business as you go through the scale-up process.
This programme is aimed at companies that are looking to accelerate growth and need to review or develop their approach to marketing in preparation for scaling.
Participants will create their own strategic marketing plans for a scaling business and understand how to:
Be prepared to get your sleeves rolled up and undertake the analysis required to truly understand your customer markets/competitor markets, identify the scope for opportunities and how to exploit them and develop a plan for delivery
Start with a 'Pre-Planning' Meet-Up
Day 1 – Where are we now?
Analysing the current position in relation to the growth position, gap analysis, what are we good at and what threats do we need to overcome? Analyse the markets, competition and our customers. How should we position ourselves?
Day 2 – Internal Analysis
Look at our own strengths and weaknesses – how does what we have to compare to what we need? Leadership, culture, human and material resources, skills and capability.
Day 3 – Strategic Planning
How to look at what all our options for achieving growth might be. Developing scenarios for the best outcomes against clear SMART objectives in the target time available in our growth plan. New products, new markets, new ways of doing things.
Day 4 – Marketing Planning
Getting the combination of product, price, place, promotion, people, process, physical evidence right for our target audience (s) and capturing that into a workable marketing plan (3 years).
Day 5 – Measuring Progress and Success
Ensuring that responsibility is taken to measure the right activities in line with the objectives identified in the strategic planning process. Being clear what great success looks like and how to measure progress against that.
End with a 'Post-Planning' Surgery
