Marketing Plan for a Successful Fall Season

While marketing your small business should always be top of mind, for many small business owners marketing seems to be constantly pushed back due to an overwhelming to-do list of client responsibilities. This is why it is so important to create a process for constantly pushing marketing efforts for your business. 

Let’s dive into a few things you can do right now to help ensure your fall is busy and profitable. 

1. Create a Plan Structure 

What are you marketing? In business, the 80/20 rule is true for so many. 

80% of your referrals come from 20% of your current customers. 

80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your services or offerings.

With that in mind, think about what is the 20% that is bringing you 80% of your revenue. Do you have a special service or offering that is yielding the highest profit? One that is popular among your audience and that you can speak directly about. 

Speaking about one offering/service directly can be more effective than giving your audience a list of all the different services you can do. The simplicity of the offering keeps the conversation light and understandable, creating a ‘resonating’ message. 

Simplicity in your marketing efforts also keeps the audience from becoming overwhelmed with options, and it creates a more streamlined approach that is proven to deliver higher conversions.

You want to start thinking about your fall offering now. What is going to resonate with your audience? What do your ideal clients need and want from service providers like you? Tap into their needs while you do this exploration. 

Next, create a calendar from now through the end of the year. I love to use Excel or Google Sheets to set up each week.

Think about the amount of money you need to make each month and how many clients you need to have to make that happen. For example:

Monthly Gross Income: $6,000
Average Client Spend: $500 

Number of Clients Needed: 12

If you’re a 17hats member, take a look at your customer sales report for a better understanding of your average sale. 

Add your monthly goal at the top of each month of your planning calendar. 

2.  Know Your Numbers 

Goals don’t do much with planning and action which is why you need to know your numbers. Having these data points will help you understand how you are tracking toward your goal over the month. 

Let’s break it down. 

Each revenue stream or service offering has a conversion rate. 

Example: 200 leads inquire about the service and 50 people book. 

That is a 20% conversion rate. (This is considered to be a very good close rate for any solopreneurs!)

In our planning, we need to take into consideration this lead to client conversion rate.

If you have a 20% conversion rate and you need 12 clients, that means you need 60 leads. 

Having the number of leads is good to know because it allows you to see throughout the month if you are tracking positively toward your goal. Not getting enough leads? Then you know you need to have a stronger marketing presence.

To take this one step even further, you know that not everyone that hears about your opportunity will inquire (become a lead). Typically only 2-5% of people that you bring ‘awareness’ to about your services will inquire about it. And, if you only advertise on social media without paid ads, statistically, that rate drops to .71%.

So at a 2% rate from awareness to becoming a paying client, your marketing strategy needs to effectively hit a minimum of 600 people. And if you are only marketing on social media, you are looking at effectively hitting 1,550 people with your fall marketing campaign. 

Ok. That can seem scary and a little overwhelming. But that’s why we are starting now. Knowing your numbers allows you to create a solid strategy.

3. Brainstorming on ‘The How‘

Now that your goals are visible, you know what service(s) you are focusing on, and how many people you need to reach. What do you need to do to achieve those goals?

It’s brainstorming time. Think about all the things you CAN do. Think big and crazy. Don’t let your mind say – “You can’t do that” or “You don’t have time for that.” Let your creative juices flow.

When brainstorming, note the number of unique people you feel you would be able to reach in your efforts. That will give you a good idea of what extent you’ll need to market. 

4. Make the Plan

Now that you have your ideas, scope it out on the calendar you’ve made. Add blog post topics to the dates you want to publish them. Starting an email campaign? Add the send dates to the calendar. 

By adding all your communications and content distribution dates to the calendar you can make sure you are consistently marketing your endeavors. And, it’s important to note – consistency is key.

And finally, you need to start early – like now. There is no reason to wait. Marketing takes time, and you need to allow people to get to know you, trust you, and refer you to others.

Being a business owner is no easy task. It is an ongoing effort, which is why it is important to go at it in an organized way. And, while the thought might be overwhelming with all the other things you need to do, your business longevity depends on your marketing efforts. So, don’t be overwhelmed, and look at this as an opportunity to build business growth. 

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