The end is in sight. Twenty nineteen is peeking over the horizon. But before we bid auld lang syne to 2018, there are a few steps you should take to set your business up for success next year.
Hey, we can hear you from way over here: Stop groaning. Yes, it’s tempting to ride out the rest of the year on the coat tails of the last 10 months’ achievements. But taking action now will make a big impact on marketing ROI in 2019. Scout’s honor.
The first step is the most important: Analyze. You can’t plan effectively for next year if you don’t have a solid understanding of what worked this year – and what didn’t. Affective analysis isn’t subjective; it requires data. So if your current marketing efforts aren’t driven by measurable results, then that should top your to-do list for next year. If that sounds overwhelming, we can help.
We Can HelpOnce you understand what was most effective this year, start planning how to further capitalize on those efforts in the coming 12 months. If you tried email marketing for the first time this year and saw a high conversion rate, that’s a strong indication that you should incorporate more eblasts into your next marketing plan. In short: Do more of what works, and less of what doesn’t.
As you’re revisiting the last year’s triumphs and fails, you can bet your customers are probably doing the same. Which means this is a great time to remind them of why your business belongs in the success column. End-of-year customer outreach can be as simple as a thank you message in a holiday greeting card, but it reminds your audience that you value their business. Looking for more unique ideas for showing your customers appreciation? We can help you brainstorm.
We Can HelpAnd finally: Alongside planning for the coming year, now is the perfect time to organize for it too. Sales and marketing have changed substantially over the last decade. There’s now more information and data flooding in than ever before – and it’s powerful stuff. But only if you use it. And you can’t use it if you don’t organize it. Think through your current processes for accessing, analyzing and acting on data. There’s a good chance it can be improved upon. So before you launch into the new year, put systems and processes in place to help you do that. Your marketing efforts will be so much more effective once you have. And if you’re looking for solutions to this problem, we handle that too.
Got your own system for prepping for the coming year? We’d love to hear about it. Share with us on social media