Creating a successful marketing plan begins with defining your value propospition. Take an honest look at your value proposition. Is your product a must-have or a luxury item? How can you help a mother in her daily life and what is that help worth to her? Is it worth giving up spending money on something else?

Your marketing plan should be a dynamic document that you will want to continuously maintain based on the results of your initial initiatives. A major part of the BlueSuitMom.com marketing plan was to present ourselves to customers, vendors, partners, and the media in the most professional manner possible. The strategy was not only to reflect the professionalism of our market but also to walk the talk in creating a work environment that nurtured work and family balance, our area of expertise.

Speak consistently to your customers, keeping in mind that everyone is a customer. Remember that actions speak louder than words. You have to consider mothers to be important as customers, as vendors, as suppliers, and as employees. Following such a plan will help you launch a truly integrated communication and marketing plan.

Good Marketing Starts at Home
Smart marketers are integrating their communications programs not only for efficiency but also for effectiveness by including employees, news media, general public, business press editors, investors, industry leaders, analysts, academics, strategic partners, vendors, and trade organizations.

Your marketing plan should be integrated throughout your company so that you are speaking as a team with a consistent message to all customers. It's up to you as the creator of the marketing plan to gain the buy-in of the entire team, from the CEO to the midnight customer-service representative. Those who believe will execute well. This includes how your customer-service representative manages your customer's delayed package or out-of-stock product order. (Chances are you won't be the one taking her angry phone call but your customer-service rep will.)

Include a Customer Service Strategy
The success of your marketing plan lies on your front line. Take a minute to look at your product delivery channels and identify who touches the customer. Your marketing plan should contain a customer service strategy to support your marketing initiatives.

If you are going to include a direct mail campaign that requires moms to call to order, how do you want the phones answered? If you are going to do a mass e-mail message, what kind of online experience do you want them to enjoy? Also think about what you don't want them to experience while buying your product. As we've learned in this book, customer service is an important element in creating a loyal mom customer. Across every industry, customer satisfaction scores are steadily declining. Smart marketers know the importance of keeping customers coming back. Training is an important tool for customer contact personnel. If they don't know what your marketing plan is, you need to include training elements in your plan in order to educate them. It is essential to have the entire organization's support of your marketing plan.

Maria Bailey is CEO of BSM Media and author of "Trillion Dollar Moms: Marketing to a New Generation of Mothers" and "Marketing to Moms: Getting Your Share of the Trillion Dollar Market"