The specific marketing plan for every business will differ. There are too many unique characteristics of each business to create a generic marketing plan that will be successful for all businesses. However, the base or building blocks of the marketing campaign should contain three specific marketing aspects. These three marketing aspects include internet, print, and in person. Within those specific realms, business owners will find what types of marketing work for their business and which do not.

Internet marketing

Internet marketing encompasses a variety of marketing. Regardless of the type of business being marketed, all successful businesses have some type of online presence. Internet marketing might include social media, SEO content, blog posts, web design, and consumer review websites. In most types of internet marketing, SEO is important. SEO, or search engine optimization involves increasing views to a webpage.

Effective SEO results often come from content marketing, providing website visitors with relevant content. Approximately 72% of marketers worldwide said relevant content creation was the most effective SEO tactic, according to a June 2015 report from Ascend2. Simply put, the more traffic that a business?s relevant content brings to a webpage, the higher the webpage will result in local searches.

Print marketing

Print marketing, a more traditional type of marketing, is still relevant today. Printing services include mailers, flyers, direct mail, and postcards. These are generally items that you receive in the mail, but could also be printed items that potential customers pick up at local stores and restaurants. The print might also be the specific items that customers see when inside of the business, such as advertisements, flyers, and discount cards. The layout and design of these items is just as important as the design of an internet webpage.

Graphic designers are knowledgeable about quickly grabbing the attention of a customer with print. People tend to be in a hurry and will only scan the print, making it important to get the relevant information, such as store location, services or products offered, and contact information, to the customer as quickly as possible. Given 15 minutes to consume content, two thirds of people would rather read something beautifully designed than something plain. Also, considering that many print items are mixed in with junk mail, it is important to grab the attention of the customer, before they quickly classify it as junk and throw it away.

In person marketing

In person marketing is a little more difficult to plan and does not produce the same customer and profit increases that other types of marketing does. However, in person marketing is very important to the success and growth of a business. In person marketing involves great customer service, frequent communication about the business, and creating word of mouth references. Internet and print can only drive traffic to the business, it cannot force customers to recommend the business to others.

A lot of in person marketing also depends on the quality of the internet and print marketing. A customer who is pleased with a business?s social media presence or content on their webpage is more likely to recommend. Additionally, 57% of customers say they would not recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site and 40% have turned to a competitor?s site after a bad experience. A customer who is dissatisfied with the quality of print they receive in the mail is more likely to throw it away than to share it with neighbors and friends.

Although specific marketing plans differ among businesses, every marketing plan should contain strong groundwork. This means it should minimally have three different categories of the plan. Customers expect a business to have internet, print, and in person marketing. Failing in one aspect of these areas can also cause a failure in another. Equal efforts should be made to succeed in all marketing areas and each should be carefully planned, professionally designed, and marketed toward a specific intended customer.