Marketing plans for B2B businesses and professional service firms in the UK, Europe and USA.
Most firms know roughly what they should be doing about marketing. The problem is where it lives. In the managing partner’s head, or across three half-finished documents, or in a conversation everyone had at an away day in March that nobody wrote down.
So marketing happens in bursts, usually when someone notices it hasn’t happened for a while. It’s nobody’s fault. It’s just what happens when there’s no plan
What is a marketing plan?
A marketing plan is a written document that sets out what your firm is trying to achieve, who you’re trying to reach, which channels you’ll use and what everyone needs to do about it. It turns marketing from a series of reactions into something deliberate, and it means you can tell afterwards whether it worked.
Signs you need one
- Your marketing strategy exists, but only in someone’s head.
- Activity happens in bursts, usually just before or just after someone points out that it hasn’t.
- You couldn’t say which of last year’s marketing brought in work and which didn’t.
- Different parts of the firm are doing their own thing and none of it adds up.
- Your marketing team is asking for direction and there isn’t any to give them.
- You’re about to spend real money on marketing and you’d rather know what it’s for first.
- You’ve got a plan, but it was written three years ago and nobody’s opened it since.
How I work with you
1. Discovery. I spend two to three days immersed in your business, in person or online, interviewing your key stakeholders. That usually means your CEO or managing partner and leadership team, and often finance, HR, sales, account managers and product managers too. We’ll work out together who holds the insight worth having.
2. Writing. I take everything from discovery and build the plan around your goals, choosing the tactics most likely to reach your audience and generate the work you want.
3. Review. You get the plan with proper time to read it, not a presentation you have to react to on the spot.
4. Debrief. We talk it through, deal with your questions, finalise the details and agree what happens next.
The whole thing usually takes three to six weeks, depending on scope and how quickly we can get your stakeholders in a room.What’s in your marketing plan
What’s in your marketing plan
Competitor analysis. Where you sit relative to the firms you’re actually competing with, which isn’t always the ones you think.
Objectives and goals. Clear, measurable, and tied to what the business is trying to do rather than to marketing activity for its own sake.
Target market, positioning and messaging. Who you’re for, why they should choose you, and how to say it consistently.
Channels and tactics. Which channels are worth your time and budget, and which you can stop worrying about.
An action plan. Step by step, prioritised by urgency, with who does what and when. This is the part that decides whether a plan gets used or filed.
How you’ll measure it. The KPIs that tell you whether it’s working, and how to report them to your leadership team.
Marketing strategy or marketing plan?
| What it is | What it answers | |
| Strategy | The direction | Who are we for, what are we known for, where are we going |
| Plan | The route | Which channels, which campaigns, what budget, what order |
| Action plan | The steps | Who does what, by when |
What happens after the plan
Some firms take the plan and run it themselves, which is exactly what it’s designed for.
Others would rather I stayed involved. That might mean coming on as your Fractional Marketing Director or CMO to deliver it, helping you recruit the marketing resource the plan says you need, or mentoring the team you’ve already got so they can run it confidently.
There’s no obligation either way, and I’d rather write you a plan you can actually deliver than one that quietly requires me.
Why work with me
I’ve been running Helen Cox Marketing since 2016 and have written over 50 marketing plans for clients across professional services and B2B. Before that I was in-house, for magic circle and silver circle law firms, top ten accountancy practices and large consultancies.
Writing a marketing plan is mostly about asking the right questions, and after fifty of them I know which ones they are. That includes the awkward ones about what’s actually working and what everyone’s been politely not mentioning.
I’m a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (FCIM) with Chartered Marketer status, which means you’re working with someone fully qualified and still doing this work every week.
Who this is for
This works best for professional services firms and B2B businesses that have grown past the point where marketing can sit in one person’s head. Law firms, accountancy practices, consultancies and B2B organisations, whether you’ve got a marketing team, one marketing executive, or nobody yet.
It’s less useful if you’re looking for a document to satisfy a board or a funder. I write plans to be delivered, which means they’re honest about what you can’t do with the resource you’ve got, and that isn’t always the document people want when they’re trying to look impressive.
It’s also not the right starting point if you don’t yet know what’s working. In that case a marketing review and audit first will make the plan considerably better.
Get in touch
A marketing plan won’t fix everything. But it does mean that this time next year you’ll be able to say what you did, why you did it and whether it worked, which is more than most firms can.
Book a discovery call and let’s talk about what yours would need to cover.
I work with B2B businesses, law and solicitors firms, accountants and consultancies in London, the UK, Europe and the USA.
FAQs
If your strategy is only in someone’s head, yes. A written plan gives everyone the same direction, stops the scattergun approach where you try everything and measure nothing, and lets you tell afterwards which initiatives were worth repeating. It’s also the difference between a marketing team that needs constant direction and one that can get on with it.
Usually three to six weeks from start to finished plan, depending on scope and how quickly we can get time with your stakeholders. That covers the discovery interviews, writing, your review time and the debrief.
The strategy is the direction: who you’re for, what you want to be known for and where you’re heading. The plan is the route: which channels, which campaigns, what budget and in what order. What I write covers both, plus the action plan underneath.
More people than you’d expect, and that’s deliberate. Typically your CEO or managing partner and leadership team, plus finance, HR, marketing, sales, account managers and product managers depending on your structure. The insight that changes a plan often comes from someone who’s never been asked about marketing before.
Depends how old it is and whether anyone’s opened it. If it was written before a significant change to your firm, your market or your team, it’s probably describing a business you no longer are. A marketing review and audit is sometimes the better first step, so we’re building on what’s working rather than starting again for the sake of it.
If you’d like me to. Some clients take the plan and run it themselves, others bring me on as their fractional marketing director to deliver it, help recruit marketing resource, or mentor the team they’ve got. There’s no obligation.
That’s common, and the plan will say what resource you need and in what order. Sometimes that means recruiting your first marketing executive. Sometimes it means the plan is built to be delivered by the people you’ve already got.
We agree KPIs upfront, tied to the goals in the plan. Usually a mix of lead generation, website traffic, conversion rates, client retention and revenue growth. The plan sets out how to report those at ground level and to your leadership team, so you can adjust as you go rather than finding out at the end of the year.
It’s a free 30 minutes for me to understand what you’re dealing with and work out whether I’m the right person to help. If I’m not, I’ll tell you and point you somewhere better.
Happy clients
Helen has been a central player in the growth of the firm.
Helen created the firm’s marketing strategy and implemented it, which is no mean feat given our exponential expansion these last 3 years.
Helen has also ensured that we think strategically about our marketing and about how to position ourselves. Under Helen’s expert advice and guidance, we have developed a strong brand presence, brought on a PR agency, and are now making strides with our international marketing, to
Simeon Spencer, Senior Partner
Spencer West
Helped our marketing team craft a well thought out marketing plan
We initially used Helen as we were looking for an expert to help provide advice and guidance to our marketing team. One of the standout aspects of Helen’s work was her ability to help our marketing team craft a well-thought-out marketing plan. She delved into the breadth of marketing channels, offering valuable insights on how we could enhance our approach.
Moreover, Helen extended her support beyond the initial marketing plan. She played a crucial role in the recruitment process for our senior marketing executive, ensuring that we found the right candidate to drive our marketing initiatives forward.
Gavin Richardson, Managing Director
Mortgages For Business
Case study highlight
Revamping marketing strategy for a boutique property litigation firm
A boutique property litigation firm sought assistance in revitalising their marketing efforts. Dissatisfied with their previous head of marketing who had adversely affected their SEO rankings and exhibited slow responsiveness, they approached me for a comprehensive marketing and business development strategy.
Let’s talk…
For more information on any of my services, get in touch and let’s talk.