Businessman Reveals How to Tie Marketing & Advertising to Strategy

Steve Kaplan, aka The Difference Maker, Spent the Last Ten Years Working Out
Formulas for Success in Business

CHICAGO, Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- As a toddler, Mommy wouldn't pick John up
anymore. So John looked up, extended his arms, and wailed because he knew
that would get him back into her arms.
Though still drooling, John knew how to implement effective marketing and
advertising that reinforced his overall strategy.
Steve Kaplan, aka The Difference Maker, spent the last ten years working
out formulas for success in business. He points out:
"Somewhat similar to John's toddler actions, businesses spend trainloads
of money and time on marketing and advertising to get people to buy their
products and services. So that set of actions better tie in closely with
their overall strategy."
Here's Kaplan's six-step process to make that alignment:

-- Step 1: Set measurable business goals. Map out a route before you
go charging into the wilderness -- document that route in detail.
When you don't know where you're headed, any road will get you
there. Goals generally focus on the company as a whole.

-- Step 2: Develop sound business strategies. Outline in a document
how to achieve those goals. Strategies focus more on specific parts
of your business.

-- Step 3: Generate effective business tactics. Tactics allow you to
implement strategies. It's always good to have multiple tactics for
each strategy. Write them down.

-- Step 4: Pair the tactics with effective marketing and advertising
devices. Determine who you want to talk to, how you want to reach
them, and what you want to say. Write it all down.

-- Step 5: Spend the "right" amount of money. You have to pay to play.
Word of mouth might help later on, but getting customers the very
first time takes money -- traditionally, 3-5% of gross revenues.

-- Step 6: Chart your success. Are things happening as planned and at
the right time? Have a measurement for each tactic, like a
questionnaire that tells you which tactics worked with which
customers, in detail.