2009 Marketing Plan Tips for Sage Business Partners

Has your firm finished a marketing plan for the 2009 calendar year? If it has, then way to go! If not, then don't worry because it's not too late to get started! Having created marketing plans for Sage VAR's in the past, I can give you a few tips on how to create a marketing plan that could play a pivotal role in growing your firm's revenue for the upcoming year.

Before I start, let's get one thing out of the way. The real reason for having a marketing plan is not because your Sage RAM is asking you for one or because you need one to joing a Sage Fast Track program. The value of a marketing plan is that it helps you decide how best to spend your resources (both time & money) to accomplish your firm's annual revenue and branding goals. Otherwise, your efforts will not be coordinated and may actually appear haphazard and anemic compared to your competition.

Tip #1 - Plan Big! Go all out on your plan by detailing as many initiatives as possible on paper and cost them out with rough estimates. That way you can review all marketing options at your disposal to determine what may work best for the right price. If you really want to overhaul your website, then put a number in for that key brand upgrade. Want to run a telemarketing campaign targeting a specific SIC, then factor that cost in as well. You can always go back and eliminate the  programs you think may have marginal value for the cost so that you end up with an affordable budget that will help you reach your goals.

Tip #2 - Get Sage's Help. It's a great idea to consult with your RAM or David Murphy, Sage's Channel Marketing Manager, to come up with different ideas that appear to work in today's highly competitive marketplace. They see what other Sage VAR's are doing every day and can give you valuable feedback real-time to help you determine what may work best for your particular target market.

Tip #3 - Spend your co-op dollars. It probably goes without saying, but you'd be surprised at how many business partners let co-op dollars go to waste. Your marketing plan should be large enough to spend through your current co-op funds and then some. Sage has a great selection of preferred vendors, some of whom provide up to 60% co-op, so if you need a success story written about your last implementation then spend the money before you lose it.

Tip #4 - Court your customers. Often the greatest source of new customers and incremental revenue is your existing customer base. Because of that fact, you should make sure that you devote some of your marketing resources to programs aimed at staying in front of your customers. For instance, a referral program could involve an annual review that determines how well you are serving your customers, finds ways to help them run more efficiently and also asks for referrals.

Tip #5 - Stick to the Plan. A marketing plan should specify the dates when various actions are to take place. It's always good, for example, to send out a monthly newsletter around the same time of the month as this builds an expectation in your customers and they make a mental note when to look for the next one. Even more important, sticking to the plan means that you are doing what it takes to grow your Sage software business well into the future.

I hope these fast tips have given you some food for thought. If you have any questions about them, feel free to post your comments on this Blog or call me to discuss how The Sage Closer might be able to help you surpass your revenue goals for 2009!