Planning for a new year always seems like a daunting task; however, you need to be meticulous in your approach and executing your strategic plan. This simple guide below can be of assistance.
Do a little prep work- Create a list of what you think you would like to accomplish in the New Year, investigate your current state of strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities but most importantly review your financials
Back to basics- What are your core guiding elements. What is your business or service message? What mediums are you using to reach your markets, are they working for you. What is your key differentiator/ unique selling point and more importantly do you know your customer? Answering these questions can help you decide whether you have moved from your initial service offering or have you adjusted to the changing times and business requests.
Review your current marketing scope – has what you have done in the past worked? Take the time to review the impact of your marketing channels. Are you using the correct platforms? Are you getting data and analytics that are clear and can be used to build and formulate a viable strategy?
Create a strategic business plan to identify and clarify your goals. This is to gauge your current position and measure where you would like to be in the future. Resource planning is also critical, what skills you have within your business you can leverage. Do you need to bring in someone to assist or do need to outsource to an agency?
Establish a budget – This is focused on the marketing function, allocate funds to various mediums so you can effectively market to, and capture the attention of, your customer. Determine the optimal funding levels to reach your goals.
Create a marketing plan- A month-to-month breakdown that highlights your activities and can be amended easily. This not only helps with setting a budget aligned to your goals but will also aid in creating an alignment to current events and display your business’s connection with the current climate.
Continuously monitor your operations and ensure alignment to the goal of the business to achieve the desired outcomes.
Proper, prior planning prevents pitiful poor performance – Don Meyer
