Dump the marketing plan if all you want is a hobby!

For real businesses, it's a must!

Hi! Thanks for opening the 3rd Issue of The Funnel Chemistry. If this is your first email, you can find access to the previous two issues with the links below!

1. Value Value Everywhere! But do we know what it really means?

2. The Dangerous Trap of Vanity Metrics! You could be the next scapegoat.

It's been an awesome journey for me. Especially in terms of writing short, crisp and effective sentences. Also, in terms of making more practical and actionable content.

This email is about the Marketing Plan and how to quickly develop one! It has 1700+ words and would take 7 minutes to read.

Let's get going!

The Marketing Plan

I want to draw your attention to a key aspect of business!

Marketing, specifically Sales, is the only function that earns money in a business! All other functions like Finance | HR | Production spend money. Marketing brings that money to the table!

In spite of being the sole bread-winner of the family, it is the most underrated, most criticized and sometimes neglected function. This is what baffles me!

Marketing is not a one time affair! It's not an engine that runs on its own eternally without any fuel! Marketing is a deliberate activity that needs good deal of planning and controlled execution. If money has to flow in continuously then proper planning is the key!

A plan that helps you to earn revenues continuously is the Marketing Plan!

A Simple Case Study (In other words a story!)

Okay! Let me tell you a small story:

A while ago I developed the hobby of drawing Zentangles and Mandalas. I became reasonably good at it. I used to spend 3 to 4 hours a week, doing some intricate and complex designs and share them on Instagram. I loved the art. I could sit hours at it. It also helped me fight my anxiety at that time. Here’s a sample.

I had used one of my hand drawn patterns on a slide presentation once. A participant in my program wanted a copy of that. I emailed it to him. He came back with a proposal.

Their company manufactures t-shirts that get exported. He wanted me to give them a set of designs which they can print on the shirts. They would pay me per design. They were willing to sign a contract for the next six months!

I was thrilled when I got the email with this proposal. It's like what was said on social media became true! My hobby can earn me some money! I loved art and I got an opportunity to make it into a side hustle! What a beautiful day it was for me!

Should I take this up?

How I developed a fundamental marketing plan?

Though I was tempted quite strongly to say yes to the deal, I controlled my urge and went to the drawing board! Specifically I asked the following questions and came up with answers!

A. What is the Value Proposition? (Click here to learn how I came up with the answer below!)

The company wanted unique zentangle patterns which they can print on their t-shirts. They wanted me to work with them for 6 months in which I have to produce atleast 24 acceptable designs. Each design will be printed on a limited number of t-shirts. If these patterns are accompanied by catchy slogans it would be a great value addition.

B. How long will this value proposition remain valid?

The current contract was for six months. It's enough to know the company and explore if I can add value! But the fashion industry is notorious for fads or viral trends that go down as quickly as they catch up. So, this is clearly a short term trend. The best way to think of such work could be as a one year Project.

C. What should I do to keep the value proposition intact for longer than 6 months.

I must produce unique and creative designs. If these designs are like those that can be downloaded from the Internet, it will undermine my value.

The designs that I produce must catch eyeballs! Will people notice and turn back to see the designs? Can a store use it as an attractive display on a store-front?

D. How do I want my customers to see my offering (product/service)?

I want my customers to think if my designs as unique. My designs must augment and enhance my clients brand. It must make the brand stand out and communicate the core values of the brand effectively. In other words, I want my customers to think if my brand as indispensable part of their brand. The keywords here are unique, enhance, indispensable! Therefore my designs are to be seen as a Premium offer.

E. How long do I have to monetize this opportunity?

How long does this company intend to use this tactic to make its t-shirts unique? If I propose this as an idea to other companies how long would they think of this as unique?

In my assessment, if I start now, I could have a project which could be profitable for a year or so! So, I should be in a position to monetize this opportunity within a year from now! Can I make this happen?

F. How scalable is this?

How many others would like my designs? I did a quick survey within my network. Many people told me that zentangles and mandala patterns are unique. They create an impression of intricate work which the brands value. They were positive that I can get some more clients for this project. More questions that I could ask are:

How quickly would customers sign on? I assumed that organizations might take atleast two to three weeks to decide if they wanted me on board or not! A weakness for me was that I am a first timer into the fashion industry. I have only my portfolio to show off.

G. How will I showcase my product/service to others?

I need a portfolio. The best way would be a website that can showcase my work. This website must project my designs as unique, enhancing and indispensable! Remember the keywords we identified in question D! Those are our positioning words

H. What is the pathway to get a lot of attention and build a pipeline?

How will I drive traffic to my website? What kind of traditional, digital and out of the box promotions should I do? In my case, I thought social media is also a place for promoting my designs. Instagram can be a very good place to begin with.

But, I cannot depend just on organic growth. I might need either paid promotions or some viral content. Otherwise I cannot reach a suitable scale quickly. Remember, our timeline is under one year for this project!

I spent a day with these questions. Analyzing my answers. Assessing my strengths and weaknesses. Finally I concluded that this is not something that I could really bet on.

My weaknesses were far more than my strengths. What I had on hand was a hobby and I wasn’t really confident to scale this up to a successful business.

I dropped the project and thanked the company for their time. I also referred them to a couple of other connections I knew from Instagram and suggested they connect with them for this kind of work.

Next Steps

I have developed an Infographic that has many aspects of a Marketing Plan covered. It acts as a guideline for thoughts. You can download it from here. Here's what it looks like!

Whenever you are thinking about your business, please take time to ponder upon these questions and I am sure, you will get practical answers. Use them to develop your planned course of action.

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Book of the week

This week I have been reading The Scam: From Harshad Mehta to Ketan Parekh by Sucheta Dalal and Debashish Basu. In a way, this book has been a bit nostalgic. Here's why!

I was 15 years old when the Harshad Mehta scam hit the country and the only other scamster I was aware at that time was Charles Shobharaj. About a seven years later, I entered the world of Management and then read a little bit about Bulls and Bears. I followed the Ketan Parekh scam for a bit. But, I am not a core finance guy and hence quickly lost interest in it. This book brought back a lot of memories from my MBA days and that was very heartening.

Some reasons why you should read this book:

#1. Harshad was a part of the larger system and took advantage of the greed and relative inefficiencies of the system to gain undue personal advantage. The system and the other players who ran it are as much the villains as is Harshad. In fact, I feel that if the system were appropriate, then Harshad and his likes wouldn't have had a chance. You must read this book to place the banking and regulatory system in perspective.

#2. The scam and his greed aside, Harshad was a brilliant guy. He came up in life the tough way with neither the capital nor a previleged upbringing and took on a world in which he was unwelcome. The entire Bear cartel in power at that time had to accept defeat before his Bull run. He well deserved the title "Big Bull". to that extent, he can be seen as an inspirational character.

#3. There is a thin line between ambition and greed. Harshad milked the money market. It was tardily regulated and loosely governed. He invested the money in creating the bull runs that led to the scam. Could the system have been innocent?

#4. A lot of foreign banks were a part of the rotten money market mismanagement. It is astonishing how organized and knowledgeable players can form unholy coalitions. These are largely unknown to the general public. The authorities simply chose to overlook the role of such players in the scam. The regulators made Harshad a media attention point. In the shadows of that limelight, they let some culprits push things under the carpet.

#5. Other than being technically good at stocks and markets, Harshad was a brilliant salesman. Not much is highlighted regarding this in the book. But if he were alive today, perhaps he would have used social media platforms to the most!

You can buy the book here.

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Those are the words for this week. See you next week right here in your inbox!