Your business is a Jack Russell Terrier

This post originally appeared on an older blog, MarketingIdeaBlog.com. I am re-publishing it here because I believe the information is not only still valuable, but because it can help readers better understand my approach to business communication.

Have you ever watched canine agility trials? Your business should be just like that – fast, nimble, always moving forward. Maybe even a beef-flavored biscuit for you at the finish.

So what’s holding you back? Probably some well-meaning people, whose advice you’ve sought because they are Experts in Their Field. They’re telling you that you have to have a plan before you can do any marketing. And since marketing plans are based on time-consuming research, you haven’t gotten around to doing any. And so you don’t have a plan, so you aren’t doing any marketing.

Well here’s a news flash: You don’t have to have a full-blown plan to do your marketing. If you can define some basic elements, you can establish a lean, simple document that allows plenty of flexibility while still serving to keep you on track. In video production, we called this basic document a treatment, and it was used to make sure everyone understood the parameters of a given project. As applied to your marketing, your treatment should include information about:

* Your audience
* Your brand
* Your creative strategy
* Your budget

With your treatment in place, you can consider yourself free of the shackles of the formal marketing plan. You’re suddenly fast, nimble, and moving forward. You’re on a marketing agility course. You’re the Jack Russell Terrier of marketing!

Now – what’s a marketing idea you’ve wanted to try, but refrained because you didn’t have a plan?

Photo at caninecoalition.com.