It’s not just what you control

(This is part of Create your Plan blog series, to read the first one please click here)

If you’ve followed my previous blogs you might feel ready to set off and create your plan, but we haven’t looked at the macro environment yet!  These are the external influences that impact your business.

It is all good and well having the right product, price, place and promotion mapped out for your target market if the external influences are right.

PEST

This is a popular model that help you to assess and explore the Political, Economic, Social and Technological impacts on your business. (Download this PEST scribble sheet)

Stakeholder analysis

This helps you to understand all the different people who need to communicate with (or at least be mindful of when communicating) other than and including your customer.  For example, the governing bodies or campaign groups.

You will need to correspond with local authorities, banks, funders and grant issuers.

Suppliers, competitors and third parties, as well as employees.

What about publications?  Trade magazines etc

Sayers Solutions suggests doing a mind map to explore your potential stakeholders.

Porter 5 Forces

What’s your bargaining power?  How easy is it to enter or exit the market? (Download the Porters 5 Forces scribble sheet.)

Now create, you have the first half of your plan.

You now know what you want to achieve, you know what you are capable of, you know what the external influences are.  Now let’s decide how you are going to do it.

Take time to think about this and check back in a few days to read my next blog.

There are marketing glossaries of other tools, models and exercises which I could list you and explain, however for some the exercise will be wasteful and it is always best to understand the business before selecting the right direction.

Sign up to receive the complete set of articles in this series in a PDF white paper for you to create your plan at leisure.  If you would be interested to hear how Sayers Solutions could guide you through this process and help you not only complete your marketing plan, but also implement it and achieve your objectives and goals please check out our packages for more information.