Delivery Mechanisms and Marketing Planning

Start your marketing planning for 2025.

We’ve explored delivery mechanisms like email, USPS mail, social media, and press releases for earned media. Each plays a distinct role in your 2025 marketing plan. Depending on your business size and industry, your plan could range from straightforward to highly complex.

Since I focus on helping small businesses and non-profits, I’ll use a fictitious local business to illustrate how to develop an effective plan for next year.

Meet Patty’s Planning and Gifts for Every Occasion

Let’s imagine “Patty’s Planning and Gifts for Every Occasion” is a small business in a bustling downtown shopping area. Patty’s offers a mix of retail and service-based products, including cards, gifts, handcrafted treats, and full-service event planning.

The Retail Side

Patty’s retail business sees steady traffic throughout the year, catering to occasions like birthdays, baby showers, weddings, and family celebrations. Seasonal peaks occur around Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s and Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Shoppers can typically find exactly what they need in-store, no matter the time of year.

The Event Planning Side

Patty’s event planning services, however, have a longer sales cycle. Customers usually need to start planning months in advance, especially during busy seasons when event spaces, caterers, and equipment are in high demand.

Patty essentially serves two distinct audiences:

1. Customers who visit regularly for gifts and treats.

2. Potential event clients who may not yet realize they need a professional planner.

Community Connections and Marketing Goals

As part of a thriving downtown, Patty’s business is deeply connected to its community. The local business association hosts four major events annually—in mid-fall, at Christmas, in late February, and in early spring. These weekend-long events feature activities for the public and extended store hours for businesses.

For her 2025 marketing plan, Patty sets these goals:

• Publish six articles in the local newspaper.

• Post to Facebook twice a week.

• Post to Instagram daily.

• Share one LinkedIn post weekly.

• Send a monthly email newsletter to customers.

Except for the newspaper articles, most of Patty’s messaging will be simple: reminders about upcoming holidays, announcements of new products, details on sales, and LinkedIn-specific tips for hosting successful events.

Leveraging Earned Media in Marketing Planning

A key question for Patty is: What can she send to the local paper that will actually get published, rather than being referred to the sales team?

While there’s nothing wrong with advertising (we’ll get to that later), the current focus is on earned media.

Here are some potential newsworthy topics for press releases:

• A major business anniversary.

• Staff expansions or promotions.

• Relocation or store expansion.

• Prestigious awards received by Patty, her staff, or the business.

These are great opportunities but may not occur frequently. So, what else can Patty write about to grab attention?

Tapping into National Awareness Days

One resource Patty can use is the website “There’s a Day for That.” No matter what your business, there are dozens of awareness and commemoration days throughout the year that can inspire events, promotions, or social media campaigns—and potentially earn media coverage.

For instance, Patty will be excited to know that National Wedding Planning Day is March 1, 2025. This offers a perfect opportunity to host an open house, partner with other vendors, or share tips in a blog post or local news feature.

Here’s a sneak peek at what “There’s a Day for That” might highlight for January 2025:

• January 11: National Milk Day (pair milk-themed treats with a promotion).

• January 18: National Get to Know Your Customers Day (host a customer appreciation event).

These types of campaigns not only drive engagement but also position Patty as a proactive and creative member of her community.

Closing Thoughts

By aligning her efforts with national awareness days and her community’s events, Patty can create meaningful campaigns that resonate with her customers. In the next installment, I’ll explore specific examples from “There’s a Day for That” and show how small businesses like Patty’s can turn them into actionable newsworthy ideas for 2025.