Template Library
Who says that marketing has to be a series of proprietary processes that no one understands but certain people? Other professional services have the benefit of established processes and procedures and of standards and defined metrics. Accountants have their CPA exams and a tax code; lawyers have Constitutions and statutes.Why not us?
One of the goals Terrain has, as a member of the marketing and communications guild, is a desire to raise the bar for all of us, establishing a growing body of standards that help to legitimize our work. One of the challenges we all have today is that anyone who learns how to use Adobe or write a news release can call themselves a marketer.
Here’s a start on building a library of standard marketing templates. Please use them as you see fit, and be sure to help improve them if they need it by sharing your experience using these tools.
- Business Case Outline
The business case has historically been used in larger companies as an integral part of their product development process. Business cases, however, can be expanded to include justifying new sales models (e.g., direct v. channel), expanding customer service offerings, and internal initiatives such as “going green,” or re-organizing business units.
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- Creative Brief Template
The creative brief helps writers and designers develop the boxes in which they'll do their work. That's right - developing great creative isn't so much about thinking 'outside' the box as it is about being creative inside the boxes of audience targets, messaging, budget, and so on.
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- Event Brief Template
Events marketing is a practice unto itself and Terrain has built a starting point for event planners and laypersons alike. There are three components to the template - the event brief, an event plan, and an agenda. The template includes detailed instructions.
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- Marketing Plan Outline
The marketing plan is the foundation for all focused execution. More than just the blue print for marketing activities, it also provides the basis for measuring success and ‘course-correcting’ as new opportunities arise or market variables change.
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- SMART Goals Outline and Worksheet
SMART goals are used for many reasons – from informing workforce MBOs (Management By Objective) to developing and launching individual projects. In all cases, we like the SMART idea – it can really help create the right set of tracks for your corporate or departmental train. This, of course, references the saying, “a train can go as fast as it wants if it stays on the tracks. It’s when the train tries to run off the tracks that progress can become a little difficult.”
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- Strategic Plan Outline
Corporations often have the wind knocked out of them with respect to building and using effective strategic plans. So many of them are built as operational documents rather than as what they were intended to be – the bellwether for its leadership to feel engaged in what is most important to the enterprise's future…and the language to inspire its stakeholders to work towards that future together.
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