Day 10 – Marketing 101: The Timeline

photo credit: TeryKats

Road Map.

Entrepreneurship is not an easy venture. There’s no need to tell you how many hats you wear. You can just look in the mirror.

It’s easy for me to say that a timeline is essential to success. The old model for small business owners is to wear every hat – including the one that has marketing written across the front. The problem for most small business owners is that they’re not marketers. The thought of putting on the marketing hat, creating a timeline and implementing the plan is often overwhelming.

The bottom line is that without the time, expertise and marketing connections you’ll either avoid getting started or spin your wheels trying to implement the plan. I’ve seen companies that don’t have the marketing expertise on staff waste more time and money with little ROI to show.

The best takeaway for today is reduce your risk and gain momentum faster by letting a marketing professional wear the marketing hat.

There are only two things to know about timelines:

1. The key to success with your marketing plan is to have a highly detailed timeline that defines when, where and who will implement each aspect of the plan. This includes identifying the media outlet (if applicable) the date the marketing materials need to be completed to meet advertising deadlines, etc.
2. Take a deep breath…If you don’t have the time, expertise and marketing connections to assure you’re making solid decisions and getting the best ROI, hire someone who does.

If developing a timeline is a hat you’re destined to wear, cut to the chase – take advantage of free Microsoft Templates. There’s no one sure-fire way to lay out your timeline. Find a style that works best for your business and get started.

Tell us what helps you implement successful marketing timelines below.