TL;DR: Build a Marketing Strategy and Plan That Works
Define your marketing strategy and plan to guide messaging, goals, and execution with clarity.
Use a one-liner, lead magnet, and email campaigns to build an effective marketing strategy and plan funnel.
Align your marketing strategy and plan to customer psychology with curiosity, enlightenment, and commitment stages.
Avoid common funnel mistakes to keep your marketing strategy and plan clear, focused, and consistent.
EV Agency builds your marketing strategy and plan using the StoryBrand and Marketing Made Simple frameworks.
When marketing feels like wandering in circles—ad budget draining, leads trickling, content scattered—what you need isn’t more tools. It’s a map. The Marketing Made Simple method is just that: a clear path to build a marketing strategy and plan that turns browsers into buyers.
Rooted in the StoryBrand framework, Marketing Made Simple helps you craft a message your audience understands and build a sales funnel that guides them through curiosity, enlightenment, and commitment. It’s not fluff. It’s a proven, repeatable system that aligns your message, your tools, and your team.
Why Marketing Made Simple Is Different
Most brands confuse their customers with clever slogans, noisy websites, and disjointed emails. Marketing Made Simple fixes this by doing three things:
- Clarifies your message with a simple one-liner.
- Builds a five-part sales funnel that nurtures trust.
- Turns your marketing strategy into a revenue system.
No guesswork. No overwhelm. Just a smart plan that works—built around clarity, consistency, and customer connection.
What Is a Marketing Strategy and Plan?
Let’s clarify the terms before diving into the system:
Marketing strategy
A marketing strategy is your high-level plan for reaching your target audience and turning them into customers. It answers questions like: Who are we helping? What problems do they have? What makes us different?
Marketing plan
A marketing plan is how you execute that strategy. It includes your tactics—like building a website, running ads, sending emails, and creating content.
Marketing Made Simple unites both: it gives you a strategic framework rooted in customer psychology and a step-by-step plan to build assets that convert.
The Three Stages of Customer Relationship
Every effective funnel mirrors the way humans build trust.
Marketing Made Simple identifies three key relationship stages:
- Curiosity – Your customer notices you. They’re intrigued, but not sold.
- Enlightenment – They’re learning what you offer and why it matters.
- Commitment – They decide to act and buy.
Each funnel component matches one of these stages, helping prospects move naturally toward the sale.
The Five Essential Funnel Components
Every effective marketing plan needs specific tools to move customers through their journey—from interest to action.
Here are the five core components that make up the Marketing Made Simple sales funnel, each matched to a key moment in the buyer’s relationship with your brand.
1. The One-Liner
This is your message in a nutshell. A well-crafted one-liner communicates your customer’s problem, your solution, and the outcome they can expect.
Formula:
- Problem + Solution + Result
Example:
“Most construction managers struggle with jobsite chaos. We provide simple reporting tools so projects run smoother.”
You’ll use this one-liner everywhere—homepages, bios, social media, pitch decks. It’s the anchor for your message.
Client Example: At EV Agency, we helped a client in the logistics sector rewrite their one-liner from a technical product description to: “Freight delays cost you time and money. Our tracking platform gives you visibility and control.”
2. The Website or Landing Page
Your website is your digital storefront. Its job is not to impress. Its job is to convert.
Must-haves:
- Your one-liner above the fold
- One clear CTA (“Book a Demo”, “Get a Quote”)
- Visuals that show the product or happy customers
- A short success story or testimonial
- A simple section outlining the plan (3 steps max)
Tip: Cut the fluff. Remove jargon. Think like a guide, not a guru.
3. The Lead Magnet (PDF)
This is the bridge from curiosity to enlightenment. It’s a high-value, low-barrier offer in exchange for an email.
Great lead magnets:
- Solve a quick pain point
- Are skimmable (1–3 pages)
- Position your brand as an authority
Examples by industry:
- Construction: “Top 5 Jobsite Delays and How to Prevent Them”
- SaaS: “The CRM Buyer’s Checklist”
- E-commerce: “Holiday Sales Prep Guide”
- Coaches/Consultants: “How to Price Your Services Toolkit”
Your lead magnet starts the relationship. Keep it simple. Keep it useful.
4. The Email Nurture Campaign
Now that you have their email, start the conversation.
Structure (5–7 emails):
- Email 1: Deliver the PDF + quick value
- Email 2: Tell a success story
- Email 3: Share your story as the guide
- Email 4: Address common objections
- Email 5: Offer a soft CTA
These emails don’t hard-sell. They warm the lead, build trust, and prepare the prospect for action.
5. The Email Sales Campaign
This is where commitment happens. A 3–5 part email series that invites the reader to take action.
Key ingredients:
- Urgency (limited-time, seasonal, spots filling)
- Benefits over features
- One clear CTA in every email
- Risk reversal (guarantees, no-risk trials)
This sequence should feel like a confident guide saying, “You’re ready. Let’s go.”
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Even great businesses misstep when building funnels. Here’s what to watch for:
- Too many CTAs – One page, one action.
- Bland lead magnets – If it doesn’t solve a real problem, it won’t convert.
- Confusing emails – Clarity beats cleverness every time.
- Inconsistent voice – Your emails, ads, and pages should all sound like the same helpful guide.
Fixing just one of these can dramatically improve funnel performance.
Funnel Performance Checklist
Use this quick checklist to assess your funnel:
✅ One-liner is clear and visible on all major channels
✅ Website headline matches the one-liner
✅ CTA appears above the fold and at the bottom of page
✅ Lead magnet solves a real problem in 1–3 pages
✅ Email nurture sequence includes story, value, and objections
✅ Email sales campaign includes a clear offer and deadline
How to Build Your Funnel Step by Step
Here’s your complete marketing strategy and plan in six steps:
- Write your one-liner – Refine until it’s crystal clear.
- Build your homepage – Apply StoryBrand layout principles.
- Create your lead magnet – High-value, short, and specific.
- Write your emails – 5–7 nurture + 3–5 sales.
- Drive traffic – Use SEO, ads, social, or referrals.
- Measure and tweak – Review open rates, click rates, conversion rates.
Rinse and repeat. That’s your system.
How StoryBrand and Marketing Made Simple Work Together
StoryBrand clarifies your message. Marketing Made Simple puts it into a working system.
- StoryBrand gives you the words.
- Marketing Made Simple gives you the steps.
Together, they build a marketing strategy and plan that turns browsers into buyers, without confusion.
At EV Agency, we apply both every day. From brand strategy to web design and campaign execution, we help our clients build systems that grow with them.
Build a System That Grows With You
Your marketing strategy and plan shouldn’t feel like guesswork.
With the Marketing Made Simple method, you know exactly what to build and why. You create a funnel that educates, invites, and converts.
If you’re tired of the marketing wilderness, let’s make it simple.
Scout it out with EV Agency. We’ll help you build the system. You lead the way.
Need help choosing your next step? Get in touch with the marketing outfitters at EV Agency. We’ll help you chart the path—and walk it with you.
It’s the big-picture plan for reaching your audience and converting them into customers. It includes your message, positioning, and goals.
It’s the tactical execution of your strategy. It includes content, email, social media, SEO, and sales funnels.
With the right team and tools, a full funnel can be launched in 2–4 weeks.
It solves a specific problem, is easy to consume, and builds authority. The best ones are short PDFs like checklists or mini-guides.
Yes—especially for high-trust, long-cycle sales. Clarity and nurturing are even more important in B2B.
The four main types are: market penetration (more sales to existing customers), product development (new products for current markets), market development (new markets for existing products), and diversification (new products for new markets).
Company, Customers, Competitors, Collaborators, and Climate. These five areas guide situational analysis and planning.
Start with clear goals, define your audience, assess competition, choose marketing channels, craft messaging, and assign KPIs. Use a calendar to structure execution.
- Clear goals
- Focused audience targeting
- Strategic content and messaging
- Actionable tracking and metrics
- Market research
- Goal and audience definition
- Tactical planning
- Execution and measurement
Keep Growing • More Dispatches from Basecamp
Clarify your message and boost conversions with the StoryBrand framework—a proven guide to help brands connect and grow with clarity.
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