As we approach the New Year, it is time to start thinking of everyone's favourite thing - budgets. Now, while budgets are not thrilling by any stretch of the imagination, having a budget and a plan when it comes to your marketing efforts can make a huge impact. There are several reasons why it is advantageous to have a marketing plan. Firstly, having a marketing plan saves you time and money. One way you can save money is by being able to take advantage of pre-booking or multiple booking rates. Booking six magazine ads at once will give you a more favourable rate than if you placed the same ads one at a time throughout the year. You also save money by not incurring additional administration costs as you figure out your plan as you go along. By creating a plan, you are also establishing a budget, which helps you make sure you stay on track throughout the course of a year. It is easy to overspend if you look at each ad placement individually, but viewing the budget as a whole keeps you on track.
A marketing plan also enables you to be more strategic in your efforts. By creating a marketing plan, you are able to look at all of the opportunities present in a year and decide what best meets your needs and desired outcomes. Working with your account manager to create a functional marketing plan to start 2010 will help you to be as effective as possible in all of your marketing efforts. Now there's a New Year's resolution you can stick to.