E-Marketing plan for EJM Management Consulting Inc.

Part I: Product

Why EJM Management Consulting Inc.?

Introduction and Executive Summary

           E-Marketing plan for EJM Management Consulting Inc. is a resource management company created with the intention to support the Greater Cincinnati area and surrounding communities.  Entrepreneurs and small business owners have the opportunity to share some of the workload with their projects. Every business owner is in business because they had a good idea. We all know that some of the best ideas never come to life because of obstacles. Since 2009, E-Marketing plan for EJM Management Consulting Inc. has helped more than 220 companies and entrepreneurs qualify, create plans, and execute on good ideas.

Step 1: Situation Analysis

            A situation analysis is created with the intention of being boilerplate to a master plan for a marketing campaign. There are two touch points highlighted after the initial read. First, there is visibility created regarding both internal and external factors. Both impact on the success of an organization.  Second, it creates a picture of the organization as a whole. A situation analysis, leads to an understanding for all factors involved in the marketing success opportunities in full view. Leadership in an organization proceeds with the following steams in building.

            Data collections from different platforms regarding favorability for E-Marketing plan for EJM Management Consulting Inc. over a three day period occurred to gain an understanding of what entrepreneurs and small business owners were looking for in terms of support. This form of market research was important to providing E-Marketing plan for EJM Management Consulting Inc. with the insights to make us successful. The feedback overall was positive, with over 85% of the surveyed felt that they could use such services.

            We apply an integrated support approach with the following service offerings:

Customization

E-Marketing plan for EJM Management Consulting Inc. offers a customized solution for each client. If a project is not making their milestones, or if the momentum is off, we will review your project plan to get back on track.

Capital Project Management

From the definition of the project scope, we support you to maintain tight control over your schedule and budget. Risks are considered during the different stage gates, and reviewed to make sure that the project is closed with maintaining its value.

Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT)

The following SWOT analysis provides an overview of  key strengths and weaknesses of JM

Management Inc., and describes the opportunities and threats that we may face.

Strengths Work Experience Education Technical Expertise Skills that are transferable Good network of contacts Low operational costs Good database of prospects Clear niche Able to turn strategic direction quickly	Weaknesses The business is small and privately owned. High costs associated with customized and personal service Lack of high volume Lower scope of investing in marketing activity Need to continue to grow reputation Lack of headcount Vulnerable to staff turnover
Opportunities Possible new markets Strong economy Rapid growth with online use To produce new events Creation of new jobs	Threats Global competition New competitors Price wars Entrepreneurs and small business owners with conservative spending practices Competition mimicking service offerings

Step 2: E-marketing Strategic Planning

The Action Plan       

EJM Management Consulting Inc. will address the SWOT analysis, trough the marketing action plan.

This involves taking the plan from a written plan, to identifying how the tactical activity fits with the rest of the organizational plan. We identify objectives, skills, resources, and the ever changing opportunities with the market. There are key areas to consider when building during this phase:

§  Segmentation

§  Targeting

§  Differentiation

§  Positioning

(Strauss, 2011)

            The approach for an E-Marketing plan for EJM Management Consulting Inc., was created for supporting a new entrepreneur. This is still an organic document that explains how I manage and lead by business. I was able to acquire additional financial to support me with my goals. My MOA (marketing opportunity analysis), involved tools to support transparency with forecasting and market factor identification for development.  For new business development opportunities, point of inquiries was created with surveys to help match opportunities and leads. Customer relationship management (CRM) is also at the core of this function. 

Segmentation

            Segmentation identification was the technique used to pull insights from social media. I was able to determine from insights from Facebook on my professional page, my followers are in the range of 25-44. My core followers fall under the categories of Millennials, Gen Y and Gen X. Their marketing personas are more visual. Thus, the mix used for these groups are videos and imagery. Thus, we identified that there is value to leveraging EJM Management Consulting Inc. on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, to create opportunities for engagement.

Targeting

            Targeting is a process within marketing that highlights the consumer traits. It is based on the product or service up for promotion. Due to the fact that vocal and visual are traits of our top three demographics, I understood that traditional methods since vocal and visual are the way to go with my highlighted demographic, Millennial and Gen Y, we understood that traditional methods were not going to be successful. Traditional forms of advertising are not in favor, for example advertising, newspaper, radio, and broadcast television.  Millennials, Gen Y and Gen X have an expectation to hear from marketers often. All of this access and information has left them self-empowered.

            In order to execute on my brand action plan, I’ve identified the following:  

§  Brand Definition: I’ve developed a short biographical statement that summarizes who I am.

§  Audience Building: I follow two groups daily, peer and influencer groups. I use microblogging sites such as Twitter and Hootsuite to follow their streams daily. The “lists” function on these platforms allows me to control exactly what I want to view on the newsfeed. This option allows me to a consumer-focused approach to understanding the tone of my markets.

§  Align Social Networking: My message and information is consistent on all my social networking sites: Hootsuite, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +, Klout, Instagram, Pinterest, to name a few.

§  Be a Content Master: Continuing to educate myself on trends, provides me with the ability to create my own marketing materials for sharing on social networks. 

§  Engagement is everything: I see the benefit to dedicating time each day to social media management.

Positioning

            For EJM Management Consulting Inc. needs to come across approachable, knowledgeable, and willing to learn as much as I do teach. My approach is to use different styles of tonality reflective of the different platforms that I use.

Step 3: Objectives

Objectives are a group of goals established by a business when they are in the process of promoting their products or services to the market. This is achieved within a time frame. Marketing produces an environment of least resistance to buying a product. The course text breaks an objective down into three steps:

§  Task (what we do).

§  Measurable quantity (by how much).

§  Time frame (by when).

§  (Strauss, 2011)

Some initial marketing objectives for JM Management Inc. were:

§  To increase sales.

§  To improve product awareness.

§  Establish my company within the market landscape.

§  Management of the brand.

Once I had the tactical steps to support my objectives, my activities were more focused. I was able to have stronger outcomes.

A key to any successful business plan and execution is their ability to position their brands and develop a niche for themselves in their market place. Some goals I’ve established are:

§  Understanding my market, as according to my analytics, the majority of my respondents are Gen X and Millennials.

§  Visual content generation, which is appealing to both demographics.

§  Craft an overall image is approachable and displays my overall expertise.

§  Understand the target audience with a communication plan allows for a concentrated marketing strategy.

§  Continuing to grow my expertise in resource management.

§  Retain skilled and creative resource support.

§  Pricing plans that are competitive to support the small business owner.

Step 4: E-marketing Strategy

An E-Marketing strategy for a business includes the methods and the mediums of communication for a business. This is an opportunity for marketers to choose their tools of choice. Strategies such as the 4Ps (price, product, promotion and place) are used to determine how a product or service is taken to the market. This is solid method for creating a strong marketing mix. The benefit is more definition with marketing options. The offering will then meet standards specific customer need or demand. (Strauss, 2011).

            This section of a marketing communications plan is where we establish our communications positioning, messages, public relations, advertising, and campaign timeline. Market segmentation methods determined that EJM Management Consulting Inc., has social media follows that range in the ages from 25-44. These Millennials, Gen Y, and Gen Xers have a marketing persona engagement that is visual. Thus, there is more value with leveraging platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

            My marketing mix for JM Management Inc. consists of CRM (Customer Relationship Management), a website, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), e-mail marketing and social networking. My accounts for social media are active for Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Myspace, Klout, YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest, which I manage on a daily basis with frequency. Even though I manage my social media through Hootsuite, I treat each account individually as well.

            Hootsuite is a solid system for social media support. Not only can a user utilize this tool to manage what others are saying about them, it offers a dashboard view of what is occurring for multiple networks. The collaboration aspect is very beneficial. A business owner or individual has the ability to share the load with multiple people, with the delegation of different facets separately. In creating campaigns, there is an ability to manage how much you spend, as Hootsuite is flexible in pricing and offerings. There are packages that range from $9 to $1500 depending on the need and availability of financing for the customer. Metrics are available for daily, weekly and monthly analytics. The free option works too, but the user needs to strictly manage from this tool to receive the full benefits from use.

Step 5: Implementation Plan

The implementation plan for marketing activity becomes the blueprint to communicating the company’s goods or services. This is the part of the plan where how to accomplish objectives is established. (Strauss, 2011). Information is clear, realistic, and measurable. Stakeholders can view this information. Marketers will have their pic of successful tactics such as the 4Ps, relationship management tools, objective, resource, and action planning. (DePhillips, 2010). When a company has tried and found their magical set of tactical steps against the strategic goals they have set for themselves, the probability of risk with their marketing objectives is reduced, resulting in smoother outcomes.

            An implementation project plan for EJM Management Consulting Inc. consists of tools in grid format. This can happen with Microsoft Excel or Gantt charts from Insightly. Each column represents project areas, and each row is the tasks. An example of an implementation plan pay have the following:

§  Task – list of project tasks

§  Percentage Completed – lists the percentage of each task completed

§  Status – task status such as: completed, on schedule, behind schedule, cancelled

§  Day Started – date task begun

§  Day to Be Complete – estimated date of task completion

§  Actual Completion Date – date task was completed

§  Task Assignment – Name of task owner

§  Priority – task priority such as High, Medium or Low

      Implementation and measurement are the final steps to any social media success plan. In order to have strong outcomes, implementation and measurement even though important, are overlooked. Understanding positioning and ROI on a social media investment is no longer optional. Social media ROI is defined as a measure of the efficiency of a social media marketing campaign. (Fontein, 2016). When a company has outcomes that are measureable and specific, this is especially true for social media ROI. Brands should establish goals before the start of a social media campaign. An editorial calendar keeps me on track. I can see from an outlook’s perspective my posting schedule. The tool of choice was Microsoft Excel. The worksheets were created to be broken out by month to support plans for each network. Analytics are pulled from Google, Hootsuite and Facebook to provide me with insights. These are data driven guides that provide lots of insight, such as which content is more sharable. This effort is one of many that are in support of driving traffic. Anytime I explore my plans, is always a great exercise to me learning more and refining plans.

Step 7: Evaluation Plan

Once a marketing campaign is launched, consistent observation is key. (Strauss, 2011). Having an understanding of tracking systems important before the electronic presence is established. Social media ROI is determined by how social media is managed and measured during a campaign lifecycle. (Bocco, 2016).  Understanding positioning and ROI on a social media investment is no longer optional. Brands should establish goals before the start of a social media campaign.

            The tactical activity for EJM Management Consulting Inc. is managed by CRM (Customer Relationship Management), a website, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), e-mail marketing and social networking. I am active on several platforms for social media, and each account is individually managed separately and under an integration platform. Insightly an online CRM tool is used to manage activity, workflow, roles, responsibilities, calendars, and milestones.

Part II: Personal Brand

Lisa M. Clarke

Introduction

            Our personal brand is our message to the world, and this message talks to everyone. In order to personal develop ourselves, advance our careers, and establish ourselves as leaders, this is important. How we express ourselves in the effort of establishing ourselves as who we are, what we do, and why we do it, supports positioning ourselves for opening opportunities.  The internet is a key medium for driving our online presence, which is all tied to our social media. All of this activity takes time and effort, keeping in mind that the end result has to be a reflection of us.

            My E-Marketing strategy has evolved based upon my interests in marketing and project management. In addition to being a small business owner part-time, specializing in resource planning and marketing, I am employed full-time as a financial coordinator for a global beauty care business. All of these roles have allowed me to gain insight into communication and planning skills, both equally important to marketing and e-marketing.

Step 1: Situation Analysis

            A situation analysis for our personal brand tells us where we are in our careers and life. The current situation we are in provides us with insight to our resources, our networks, personal finances, and brand influence. At this point we can identify whether or not we have the skills to be successful in our goals.  Most important what our plans for attack are to achieving them.

Personal SWOT Analysis

However, few people realize that a personal SWOT analysis can do the same for an individual in pursuit of his or her career goals. This analysis took things a step further for me. I was about to consider the external factors that heavily influence the direction and health of my career.

Strengths True passion for the profession Ambiance that’s fun and comfortable Clear vision of the needs of the market Online presence to help clients stay informed Daily microblogging to engage followers Marketing communications that lead to high customer satisfaction Extensive experience in the project support industry Quick learner Knowledge of social media and use of social media	Weaknesses Need to continue to grow reputation More self-knowledge of conversion optimization Conservative marketing budget
Opportunities Leverage the potential to meet new friends and create social bonds Opportunities to publically share my experiences as a small business owner Training for 2017	Threats People with better social media Need for design support for content production Economy

Step 2: E-marketing Strategic Planning

Target Market

As we build the profile to our target audience, we gain insight to understanding to figuring out what makes them tick. Understanding motivation is the key that unlocks doors. For the entrepreneur and small business owner, their motivation is to grow their business. If I can help them achieve those goals, then they’ll be happy to pay me for my services. This furthers the objective of achieving my goals. According to the insights provided from my Facebook professional page, my followers are in the range of 25-44. They are categorized as Millennials, Gen Y and Gen X.

Communications Positioning

Authenticity is the foundation for personal branding.  My positioning for communication lays in the ability for me to tap into a tone that is genuine has humility. My goal is to present myself as an authority of my personal brand, coming across as approachable, knowledgeable, and willing to learn as much as I do teach. I use different styles of tonality reflective of the different platforms that I use.

Online and Offline Assets

When we’re building a brand we have to pay attention to our assets. This catalog includes domain names, websites, and social media accounts. How to build assets is important to growing your personal brand.

Step 3: Objectives

Implementing my vision and objectives can lead to:

§  Better job opportunities.

§  Grow my client base for JM Management Inc.

§  Industry recognition.  

Step 4: E-marketing Strategy

            My choice of “e-marketing strategy” is based on my interests in marketing and project management. I have two years’ experience in marketing research, and over 20 years in either an Executive Assistant or Coordinator role. I am a small business owner part-time, specializing in resource planning and marketing, and a full time financial coordinator for a global beauty care business. This assignment allowed me to get a little more insight on my communication planning skills for marketing and e-marketing. I recognize that there is always room for improvement. My marketing mix consists of CRM (Customer Relationship Management), a website, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), e-mail marketing and social networking. I am active on Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Myspace, Klout, YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest on a daily basis. Even though I manage my social media through Hootsuite, I treat each account individually.

Step 5: Implementation Plan

Engaging an audience is a daily challenge for a small business. Every digital marketer has their own approach. Mine is to utilize Hootsuite to be in several places at once for engagement. I follow the 80/20 rule. This rule states that 80% of leads are generated by 20% marketing effort. This rule stands true for marketing efforts for my company and those of my clients.

In my personal brand action plan, I’ve identified the following:

§  Brand Definition: I’ve developed a short biographical statement that summarizes who I am.

§  Audience Building: I have two groups that I follow daily. The influencers and the peer groups. I use microblogging sites such as Twitter to follow their streams daily. The “lists” function on this platform allows me to control exactly what I want to view on the newsfeed.

§  Align Social Networking: To make sure biographical information is the same on all my social networking sites: Hootsuite, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +, Klout, Instagram, Pinterest, to name a few.

§  Be a Content Master: I continue to educate myself on being able to create my own marketing materials for sharing on social networks. 

§  Engaging is everything: Dedicate time each day to social media management. Influencers and peers need to be engaged.

Step 7: Budget

            I believe that when we lead with strong promotion of our brands, compensation follows. This exercise made me think about topics such as how much my brand was really worth. Currently I charge hourly for my projects, along with expenses. After all considered, I have to bottom-line profit after taxes. In 10 years I would like to run my business full time, with revenues from this stream as my primary salary. To remain competitive in the planning and project landscape, I will continue my education with a pursuit of an MBA and joining more professional organizations. Compensation from my full-time salary is currently 100% and revenues from JM Management Inc. are another supplemental revenue stream. I’m looking to increase the ratio for JM Management in 2017.

Step 7: Evaluation Plan

            Every now and then we need to audit our brands. They are organic and living things. Sometimes as it grows and plans evolve, the path changes, and this can affect the strategy. We are all encouraged to be lynchpins of our branding. We must not to forget that it takes more than us to make things work. Our branding defines our identity, and if we neglect it, we run the risk of deterioration. When we perform brand audits periodically, we find new insights. Using surveys as a tool for driving an audit can bring transparency to strengths and weaknesses about a brand. Before my initial launch, this was performed internally and externally. I was able to gain an objective to opinions to further drive crafting my brand identity. So far, my brand health checks have been great.

Conclusion

            My philosophy to self-promotion is to remain a student of my industry. Technology drives things to move faster than ever before, thus making it important to stay current on trends. Brand building involves finding creative ways to stay relevant. It is important to remember that this takes time. When one has a system of touchpoints, such as articles, journals, blogs, and posts, they’re keeping the attention of influencers and followers. It also pays to learn new things, develop new skills, and to expand your knowledge. If you're not growing, then you're stagnating, and that's the last thing you want to do as an entrepreneur.

            Many believe that a personal brand can achieve things that traditional brands can’t. Having a solid strategy is invaluable. Personal branding needs to be consistent, but it also needs to extend beyond any one platform using tools from the Social Media Trinity. Social networks such as Facebook. Twitter, and LinkedIn, is promotion tools at our disposal. Working hard to align a presence that is as one provides a positive outlook. This process is not free form. It needs to o have its own set of standards to create that professional polish. We should portray ourselves as leaders not are on campaigns to self-promoter.

References

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