1. Business & Finance

Do a Marketing Plan, Not a Business Plan

Reader Stories: The Business Plan: A Relic or a Necessity for Today's Entrepreneur?

From Diane Conklin

Name, title, company, website 

Diane Conklin, President/Co-Founder, Complete Marketing Systems

Describe your business 

Direct Response Marketing

Do you have a written business plan? 

In my 12 plus years in business it's become more and more apparent that written business plans aren't necessary, but what is essential to a successful business is a marketing plan.

If you have a business plan, do you refer to it often? 

Don't have a business plan, but we refer to our marketing plan on a daily basis as it is the lifeblood of the company. It's our measurement tool and how we know if we want to continue with the same marketing or if we need to pull back. We do everything by the numbers in our business. If the numbers don't work, then we don't do it

Advice 

Our marketing plans are all developed on Mindjet softwareand also on a simple calendar

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