And a very happy New Year to all. I trust everyone had a great holiday and enjoyed some time off from work with family and friends. But now, time to get back to work and create those fabulous marketing campaigns so that your first quarter will come in on time, on budget, and increase sales revenue. So, let’s get started.
I hope everyone has a marketing plan in place by this time. But … if you don’t then make sure you put one into place immediately. It can be as simple as writing down some goals and objectives for the year, then drilling down by the quarter, and then implementing some programs that will help you achieve those goals.
Look at your past achievements and failures. What worked and what didn’t. If something didn’t work, do you know why? Do you say that social media, for example, didn’t work? Why do you say that. Did you have some goals? Did you achieve those goals. Did you have a strategy in place? Just saying I want to get a bunch of followers this year is not a goal. Set a target of how many, what type of followers, etc. you want. Remember quality is better than quantity. Did you offer compelling content? Did you engage with your audience or were you passive? Resolve this year to become more active in social media.
I know, no one wants to talk about the traditional marketing tactics such as trade shows and print advertising, but they still do have their place in today’s market and in some industries, in particular. So, don’t underestimate their value. However, you may be shifting some of the revenue you previously spent for print advertising to online advertising. Or, instead of going to a slew of trade shows you pick only the most important ones for your business. So, you may rethink your marketing tactics rather than doing the same old thing.
Resolve to keep your website current. Don’t just update it now and forget about it the rest of the year. Your website should be ever evolving. I don’t mean a complete facelift, but that’s okay too, if it needs one. Keep your content current. There’s nothing worse than promoting a product that you have obsoleted. Or keeping information that is out of date on your website. Also make your website easy to navigate. Provide a search function. Google offers a “free” or a low cost version. They index your website and your customers use it just like they do the Google search engine.
Don’t be afraid to try new things this year. Always keep a little bit of your budget available for those special occasions. You might get a really great offer from one of your media reps to do a complete print, online, web, social media program, for example. It might be worth it. Or dabble into an area where you have little experience. That way, you don’t blow your budget but you can experiment, where necessary, and learn from those experiences.
My resolution this year is to keep you informed of new and interesting ways to market your company. So, stay tuned to this blog for more interesting hints, tips, and fun marketing ideas.
Happy New Year.
