Coordinating the timing of marketing tactics delivers successful results.
Timing in a tactical marketing plan sets out when marketing activities will take place. It establishes dates for activities such as product launches, promotions, publication of advertisements or exhibitions so that marketing teams can prepare budgets and resources for the activities. Timing is also important if marketing needs to support products with strong seasonal demand, such as Thanksgiving gifts.
Budgets
A tactical marketing plan describes how an organization will meet its marketing objectives. Generally, the plan will cover a whole year with a budget for the same period. The marketing team must ensure that budget is available at the time when important activities occur. Planning to spend a budget evenly over the year would cause problems if high cost activities, such as an exhibition or major advertising campaign, take place in the final quarter. Creating a calendar of activities helps to identify when spending will occur.
Lead Generation
Timing can also impact the success of lead generation campaigns, according to Baylor University. The plan must allow sufficient time for conversion to appointment, sales and profit within the budget year.
Key Dates
Timing plans must take account of key dates. If the marketing team schedules a product launch for September, it needs to plan the intermediate dates for all the activities leading up to the launch. That will require coordinated timing plans for creating advertisements, preparing press releases, developing packaging and promotions, training the sales force, selling in to retailers and other launch activities. Getting the timing wrong for any individual events could affect the success of the launch.
Seasonal Demand
Timing is critical for products with seasonal demand, such as holiday clothes, turkey or Superbowl merchandise. The heaviest marketing expenditure will occur in the period leading up to the buying season. Running advertising and promotional campaigns outside that timeframe represents a waste of budget.
Sequence
The sequence of activities in a tactical marketing plan can be critical to the success of the program, according to the Randall Schultz of the University of Iowa. If an organization plans to enter a new market, for example, it must create a timing plan to build awareness and stimulate sales quickly. The early stage tactical plan would concentrate on awareness advertising and programs to build a distribution network. With the foundation in place, the team can then focus on consumer advertising and sales incentives to gain market share.
Purchase Cycle
In business-to-business marketing, the timing plan must take account of a prospect's purchase cycle. The purchase cycle for a high-value product like a telecommunications system or a machine tool can last six months or longer. A typical cycle would cover identification of need, review of alternative products, assessment of potential suppliers, and final selection. Marketing teams need to supply different resources, such as product guides, company presentations, case studies and proposal documents to meet the prospect's information requirements at different times in the purchase cycle. According to Customer Think, delivering specific content at a point in the cycle when a prospect is looking for a different type of information creates a disconnect rather than dialogue.
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