William Russell Jan 5 2014

With every new year comes the hopes and dreams of a fresh start with an opportunity to improve our personal and business lives.  On a personal level, this usually means a desire to lose weight; to exercise more; or perhaps seek a different job.  Resolutions are often made with good intentions, but quickly fizzle out while the year is still young.  Planning and commitment could change that outcome.   

In business, similar thoughts occur on how our company can improve performance.  Questions are asked such as “how can we generate more revenue?”, “where can we find more customers?”, “how can people find out about us?” and so on.  These are good questions to ask and represent the mindset of a business that wants to do more and improve their market standing.  But, how can these questions be translated into actionable items and how can a business avoid the “new years’ resolution” pitfalls?  It boils down to developing attainable goals, realistic objectives and a strategic marketing plan for achieving them.  For your business, this means facing your marketing challenges head on in order to know what to do, when, where, how and why.  And, you need to know where you are going and how you plan to get there. 

How do you get there?

When we travel, we often refer to a map that provides information on the best way to reach our destination.  As in most cases, there may be several optional routes to consider, but usually there is one that represents the most efficient way to travel.  In business, we need to have a similar mindset for a marketing approach that will help you attain your goals and stated objectives.  By developing a “marketing roadmap”, your business will have a guide to follow that outlines how your company will connect to the market to create revenue-generating opportunities.  Your marketing roadmap will provide details about the proper “marketing routes” that will work best for your business.  There may be countless options to consider, but you will want to drill down to only those that make sense for your business and align well with your market. 

While your basic marketing roadmap is purposed to effectively direct you from point “A” to point “B”, you will need to include budget allocations for implementing the planned tactics; a timeline for execution; resources that will execute the components; milestones for measuring progress; and reporting for documenting success.  All of these are requirements that will keep you on track as you grow closer to reaching your revenue goals and ultimate business destination. 

Pack the essentials

But how do you know what to “pack” into your marketing roadmap to ensure your company’s solution offerings connect with buyers?  To answer these questions, you have to first gather appropriate data and intelligence.  This information is then used to create your custom marketing roadmap designed specifically to bridge the gap between your offerings and your potential customers.  Consider where your market gathers information to make buying decisions (because that’s where you’ll want to have a presence).  Analyze your competition to determine what kind of marketing efforts they may be performing that is working for them.  Review your existing client base so that you know why they value your product or services.  And, look at your own business to see how well it aligns with your market to match up with potential buyers and stand out from competitors. 

Preparing for roadblocks and the unexpected

When finalizing your roadmap, make sure you plan for the unexpected.  As a traveler often finds, obstacles and unexpected events can hinder momentum.  For your business, it could mean aggressive project schedules, a new competitor, a lost customer, budget cuts and the like.  Although it is nearly impossible to avoid all obstacles, being ready for the unexpected will help reduce the impact.   

Staying on track

Finally, track your progress.  Managing your marketing roadmap and performing routine checks will help determine where change may be required on a project or re-prioritizing a particular marketing tactic may be necessary.  While the primary framework of your marketing roadmap remains unchanged, you do want to have enough flexibility to make any required adjustments that will improve it.  Stick with it and commit to working the plan.  Taking this approach to your marketing planning and execution will help ensure that your new year starts off on the right track and continues to progress along the pathway to your desired business destination.         

William Russell is managing partner of The Marketing Beacon who develops, executes and manages custom-designed marketing strategies centered on growing Upstate and Carolinas-based businesses.  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. 

© 2014 The Beacon Company, LLC