30-60-90 Day Marketing Plan for Startups

Creating a 30-60-90 day marketing plan is a great strategy for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to stay on track. This plan will help you focus on finding customers, measuring success, and continuously assessing your progress. Let’s break it down.

30-60-90 Day Marketing Plan

You’re a startup business owner or aspiring entrepreneur. By the end of the year, your goals include landing more clients so that your business can support your lifestyle and dreams. Your challenge is knowing exactly how to make it all happen.

This 30-60-90 day marketing plan is your answer. It helps you to create a vision, establish goals, and outline actionable steps for your startup. Here’s how you might structure your plan:

First 30 Days: Setting Foundations and Understanding Market

Activities:

1. Define your business vision and mission: Clearly articulate what you want your business to be and what market needs it addresses.
2. Market research: Understand your target audience, competitors, and market trends.
3. Define your value proposition: What makes your business unique? Why should customers choose you?
4. Initial branding (website, social media): Get your name out there with a simple, effective brand and online presence.
5. Networking: Attend industry-related events, join online communities, and start building relationships.

Metrics:

• Number of potential customer interviews completed.
• Website and social media pages set up.
• A list of network contacts made and followed up with.

Questions:

• How are prospects solving the problem right now?
• Who is my ideal customer?
• What are my competitors doing well, and how can I do it better?
• What resources do I need to start executing my business?

Next 30 Days: Building the Product and Initial Outreach

Activities:

1. Product development: Begin creating or refining your product or service based on the feedback and research from the first month.
2. Create a marketing plan: Develop strategies for reaching your target customers.
3. Begin content creation: Start a blog, create videos, or social media content relevant to your audience to build credibility and visibility.
4. Customer outreach: Begin reaching out to potential customers with your value proposition.

Metrics:

• Number of products or prototypes developed.
• Pieces of marketing content created and engagement rates.
• Number of customer leads generated.

Questions:

• What feedback have I received about my product or service, and how can I improve it?
• How effective are my marketing channels and messages?
• Am I building the right partnerships and networks to support my business?

Last 30 Days: Refinement, Expansion, and Evaluation

Activities:

1. Customer feedback and product refinement: Use customer feedback to refine your product or service.
2. Scale marketing efforts: Increase your marketing activities based on the most effective channels identified in the earlier phase.
3. Sales and distribution: Expand your sales channels or distribution efforts.
4. Financial management: Begin tracking revenues, costs, and profitability.

Metrics:

• Customer satisfaction and feedback.
• Sales numbers and growth rate.
• Marketing ROI and customer acquisition cost.

Questions:

• How can I improve customer satisfaction and retention?
• What are the most cost-effective ways to scale my business?
• How can I adjust my business plan based on the lessons I’ve learned?

By breaking down your 30-60-90 day marketing plan into these focused 30-day increments, you’ll be able to tackle the complexities of starting a business in manageable chunks and adapt more quickly to changes. Remember, this plan should be flexible. Regularly review and adjust it as you gain more insight and information.

Your path to financial independence and business success is a journey, and this plan is your map. Keep track of your progress, celebrate your wins, and learn from any setbacks. With determination and adaptability, you’ll be well on your way to a thriving business.

Download our free Marketing Plan Example →

Alternative 30-60-90 Day Marketing Template

If you’re not as far along in your business and need to do more research to make sure you’re on track, here’s an alternative way to look at your 30-60-90 day marketing plan. The following marketing plan template breaks down the primary tasks you’ll need to focus on to make progress.

First 30 Days: Laying the Foundation

1. Goal Setting:
   • Define clear, achievable goals for your business.
   • Determine your target market and customer persona.
2. Market Research:
   • Analyze your industry and competitors.
   • Understand customer needs and preferences.
3. Brand Establishment:
   • Create a strong brand identity (logo, website, social media presence).
   • Develop a unique value proposition.
4. Metrics for Success:
   • Website traffic and social media engagement.
   • Number of leads generated.
5. Key Questions:
   • What makes my product/service unique?
   • Who are my ideal customers?

Next 30 Days: Building Momentum

1. Marketing and Outreach:
   • Launch initial marketing campaigns (social media ads, email marketing).
   • Network online and offline to build connections.
2. Customer Engagement:
   • Start collecting customer feedback.
   • Engage with customers through social media and newsletters.
3. Product/Service Improvement:
   • Refine offerings based on feedback.
   • Explore additional services or products to meet customer needs.
4. Metrics for Success:
   • Customer acquisition cost.
   • Conversion rate from lead to customer.
5. Key Questions:
   • How can I improve customer experience?
   • What are the most effective marketing channels?

Last 30 Days: Scaling and Optimizing

1. Sales Strategies:
   • Implement up-selling and cross-selling techniques.
   • Focus on building customer loyalty.
2. Performance Analysis:
   • Review and analyze the success of marketing campaigns.
   • Adjust strategies based on what’s working.
3. Growth Planning:
   • Identify opportunities for expansion (new markets, products).
   • Plan for resource allocation (staff, budget).
4. Metrics for Success:
   • Revenue growth.
   • Customer retention rate.
5. Key Questions:
   • How can I scale my business sustainably?
   • What are the long-term goals for my business?

Getting Started with Your 30-60-90 Day Marketing Plan

This 30-60-90 day marketing plan is a dynamic tool to guide you towards achieving your dream of financial independence through your business. I also recommend checking out our other free resources, particularly the podcasts. Here are two podcasts for fast-start marketing ideas:

Regularly review your progress against these goals and metrics. Remember, flexibility is key. Be ready to adjust your plan as you gain more insights from each stage of the process.

Author: Raj Khera is an Executive Business Coach, a former 3x CEO, and publisher of MoreBusiness.com