Tis,the,Season,for,Marketing,P marketing ‘Tis the Season for Marketing Planning

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For manybusinesses, the holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year. Forothers, the holidays are a bit slower. Regardless of which category yourbusiness fits into, you should be looking ahead to 2008. Why now? Yearend is ideal for reflecting on what you’ve accomplished during the year. Whatnew products, services or programs did you implement? What customer servicestrategies did you employ that increased business? Which marketing strategiessuccessfully put your business in front of your target customer, and whatdidn’t work and why? Armed withthis information, take a look at your goals for next year. What do you wantyour business to accomplish next year? Do you want to increase revenue? Growyour client base? Venture into a new niche market? Now think about how you’regoing to get there. This is where your marketing planning for 2008 comes in.Spend some time thinking about what marketing tools you can implement next yearthat will help you to reach your goals. Althoughsome marketing planning techniques are complex and require weeks to fine-tune,I’ve found that a simpler method works for my clients. To develop a marketingplan that will work for your business, try the following. First,identify the types of marketing you want to do next year such as advertising(print and online), events, promotions, referral programs, newsletters, pressreleases, coupons, online marketing, direct mail, e-mail marketing, etc. Choosemethods that have worked well for you in the past as well as ideas you’d liketo try. Next,decide how often you will do each type of marketing. Some methods likeadvertising, newsletters, and online marketing will require consistent use andimplementation to be successful. Others (press releases, events and promotions)can be done less frequently or can be implemented when you’re expecting acyclical slowdown in activity. Third, pullout your calendar and start penciling in marketing ideas. As you tentatively postitems to your calendar, consider what marketing methods are going to yield thebest results. Most of my business, for example, comes from my website andclient referrals, so I want to focus my efforts on posting new content to mywebsite, networking with potential business partners and clients, and regularlycommunicating with my existing client base (newsletters, postcards, referralprogram, etc.) Here’s asample to get you started: January:Send cardsto clients thanking them for 2007 business and wishing them well in the NewYear (2nd)Advertisein Sunday real estate section of local newspaper (weekly)Advertisein local Homes & Land publication (15th)Send oute-newsletter to existing clients and prospects (20th)Networkinglunch (22nd)Post newcontent to website (25th) February:Holdcustomer appreciation open house (5th)Advertisein Sunday real estate section of local newspaper (weekly)Advertisein local Homes & Land publication (15th)Send oute-newsletter to existing clients and prospects (20th)Networkinglunch (22nd)Post newcontent to website (25th)March:Distributepress release about latest award won or new product/service launchedAdvertisein Sunday real estate section of local newspaper (weekly)Advertisein local Homes & Land publication (15th)Send oute-newsletter to existing clients and prospects (20th)Networkinglunch (22nd)Post newcontent to website (25th) Now compareyour ideas and your initial marketing schedule to your budget and staff. Canyou afford to do all of the marketing you’d like to do? If not, scale back thelist. Retain items that will most often put you in front of your targetcustomer and that offer the best return on your investment. If you have awildly successful year, it is much easier to add a marketing tool than to takeone away, especially if your customers have gotten used to it. Based onwhat’s left on your list, do you have the staff to implement your ideas? Forexample, who will write your monthly newsletter? Who will make sure postcardsget mailed to prospects, and how will you get website content updatedregularly? If you don’t have the staff or you are a one-man show, can you hirean intern to help out, exchange services with a colleague or hire anindependent contractor to fill in the gaps? Finally,review your 2008 marketing plan on a quarterly basis to see what’s working andwhat may need tweaking. The document can be adjusted as needed, depending onyour changing needs. As you evaluate your plan, be sure to note which marketingmethods worked well for your business and which ideas didn’t yield the expectedresults. Keep this in a folder marked “2008 Marketing Results.” Also, note theitems that you would like to try and save them in a folder marked “MarketingIdeas.” This information will help you to plan for subsequent years. For smallbusinesses, this simple marketing planning formula is an easy way for you tolook ahead to 2008 without distracting you from the holiday business at hand. Here’s toan incredibly successful 2008!Virtually Yourz, Dana Blozis