How do I build a 90 day marketing plan?

Here at MemoryFox, we know there are 4 keys to building a successful 90 day marketing plan for your nonprofit. Let’s jump right in:

1.  Analyze Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

To start creating your 90 day marketing plan, you need to pull analytics for the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that you want to use to measure success. When choosing your KPIs, make sure they serve the objectives you are trying to reach with your marketing plan.

For example, if your objective is to increase brand awareness, then a good KPI to measure is followership across your social media channels. As followership grows, so does brand awareness.

To keep metrics consistent, and allow them to be both measurable and trackable over time, we recommend you pull statistics from the last three months. This will give you a starting point, so you can set reasonable goals.

For example, if social media followership (your KPI) increased by 5% over the past quarter, and currently measures at 400 followers across all channels, then it is unreasonable to make 1,000 followers your 90 day goal (150% increase). A reasonable goal would be 450 followers, which is a 12.5% increase.

2.  Learn what IS and ISN’T working.

It may seem obvious, but the “don’t fix what ain’t broken” lesson is 100% correct. Take time to write down your top performing strategies as well as those with room for improvement. To do this, you can begin with questions like:

• What marketing tactics worked well in the last quarter?
• Is there an opportunity to leverage new platforms or trends?
• What areas of your overall marketing strategy didn’t go as planned?
• Did any of your marketing tactics lead to something that surprised you (good or bad)?

Once you have your list, consider doubling down on the “what is working” side of the list. What would that look like? Add it to your plan.

Then, take some time to analyze the “what isn’t working” side. Are there implementable ways to improve the items on this list? Probably, yes. Do you need to continue with tactics that are not working for you? Maybe not. Only you will know the answer. Overall, we encourage you to challenge the “we’ve always done it this way” mentality and instead use data and reasoning to make your plan.

3.  Align with your nonprofit’s operational goals

This is where a 90 day marketing plan ties into a bigger picture. Your nonprofit’s operational or business objectives should be the driving force behind your marketing plan.

If one of your nonprofit’s goals is to bring in 100 new individual donors in the next quarter, break it down to determine how the 90 day marketing plan will assist with that goal. For this example, you could plan to post a “Donate” call to action once a week.

No matter what the goals are, be sure they are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and has time-bound deadline. Then, write them down!

4.  Turn marketing goals into a strategy

Once you have your SMART goals written down, you can turn your plan into an actionable strategy with campaigns, initiatives, and key messaging. Think about all areas of marketing and how it could assist in meeting that goal. Can you bring in new donors with an event? How can social media reach NEW people? Should your website have a dedicated page for this specific campaign? In most cases, you’ll want to engage several marketing channels to meet one SMART goal.

Overall, it does not matter how big or small your nonprofit’s budget, reach, community or staff is, a 90 day marketing plan is a must for success. 

In case you missed it, check out the rest of our PLANuary resources:

• Storytelling Your Way To Your Sponsorship Goals
• Maximize Impact with Mission Moments 
• 2023 Nonprofit Holidays You Don’t Want To Miss
• Mission-Focused National Days for Nonprofits