Assess Marketing Performance Now in Preparation for the New Year
December 7, 2014
By William Russell
The end of 2014 is quickly approaching and many of us will be tempted to coast through the holidays. Even though December is a busy month, it is a great time to assess your business performance for the year and make plans for the new year. When you reflect back on the past eleven months, do it with a mindset that compares results against your original plans. Capture accomplishments and be honest about set-backs. The key to this exercise is to identify why certain things were successful and why others didn’t pan out.
Begin by assessing your marketing. Why start with marketing? Because it is the critical component that fuels your sales engine. By taking note of what marketing worked and what did not during 2014, you can create lessons learned and improve upon your strategic direction for the new year.
The same routine or a different tune
Everyone knows the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting a new result. Think about what needs to be changed in your marketing and where those changes need to occur. Some areas may require a complete overhaul while others may only need minor tweaks.
Evaluate what is working well and leverage those opportunities
Acknowledge and note where you achieved marketing success this past year and how you were able to do so. Taking inventory of accomplishments will enable you to either replicate those in the future or leverage them for future opportunities.
Consider what may not be working to your advantage and turn those weaknesses around
Not everything works well, but being able to acknowledge that is a step in the right direction. Where did you fall short or hit roadblocks? What was only mediocre and why?
While many factors may influence why a marketing tactic or initiative failed to meet expectations, the objective is to turn these set-backs into successes. For example, were you able to educate potential buyers about your offerings and make connections with them, or did time constraints prevent you from reaching out in the marketplace? Did you stick to your marketing roadmap and make proper adjustments along the way or did you find yourself cutting back when the chips were down?
Determine sales and marketing needs
As you develop your marketing plans, be sure you have the resources in place to accomplish your objectives. Your sales team will need the proper tools to be successful and your marketing team will need to be responsive in supporting the sales efforts. It is a team effort and everyone should be focused on the stated goals for achieving the desired objectives of the business.
Finish the year with marketing momentum that will carry you into the next year
Don’t let off the accelerator just because the holiday season is upon us. Keep things moving forward to avoid a January cold start which always consumes a lot of time and energy.
Going into the new year with a well-defined marketing approach will put you a step ahead of the competition. This allows you to begin the year with a plan that puts you on track for immediate success. Waiting until January to start your planning does nothing but put you behind. You’ll be playing catch-up for an entire quarter and then spending the year making up for that mistake. Instead, build marketing momentum now as a jump on your competitors.
As you reflect back on your 2014 marketing programs, be honest in your assessment of the results. Take into consideration whether you planned initiatives, budgeted properly for them, implemented, managed and measured them and whether or not the intended results were attained. When you take time to identify what worked well and determine root causes for things that didn’t, you will have the knowledge required to make adjustments, leverage what worked and apply your insights toward your 2015 marketing and business growth objectives.
William Russell is managing partner of The Marketing Beacon – a marketing services firm serving small and mid-size businesses throughout the Upstate and across the Carolinas. Application of marketing expertise and know-how is emphasized to help your company gain greater market visibility and awareness, neutralize buyer risk and develop customer trust for repeat business. Contact William personally at [email protected], visit www.TheMarketingBeacon.com and http://www.linkedin.com/pub/william-russell/2/535/bb0.
