New Year, New Perspective

Set your business and marketing expectations for a successful year.

By Abigail Thorpe

The new year is here, and we’re all taking one big sigh of relief. If you didn’t get a chance to take stock of the previous year and set your goals and plans for this year, it’s not too late! Taking your year in review and setting strategies for success for the next year is a key ingredient to keep your business growing, so take the time to do it right now.

How do you create a successful strategy for the new year? Well it might look a bit different for each business, but there are a few steps you can take to help set yourself up for success.

First, take stock of last year. Look at reports, sales, expenses, and the overall picture. What are you proud of? What was successful? Next ask yourself what you can do better, and where there’s room for improvement. Learning from your mistakes is central to growth.

Next, look to the year ahead. It’s important to be aware of projections and plan for market dips or factors that may affect your business. Be realistic about what the year may hold, but remember things can always change. Make sure you have the ability to weather any storms, but also set goals. Don’t let an uncertain future keep you from growing your business.

A huge part of that success will depend on your marketing plan. Don’t just carry through the same approach you took last year. Take a look at all of your content, paid advertising, social media and any other marketing from the past year. What worked well, and what didn’t? It’s helpful at this point to pull analytics from social media sites or email marketing to see your performance.

Next, look at your budget, both what you spent last year and what you have budgeted for this year (if you don’t already have a marketing budget, now’s the time to make one!). Decide where you need to cut back, and where you need to spend more. Don’t be afraid to cut a certain type of advertising or reduce it if it’s not working for you. Focus your money and time on what’s providing results, and maybe even try something new you haven’t done before. Just because you try it, doesn’t mean you can’t change it down the road.

While you're creating your marketing plan for the year, take into account your audience. Is it still the same, or did the last year give you insight into potential customers you want to target this year? If you need to change your target audience, adjust your marketing as well.

Look at current trends and see how you can use those to your advantage or adjust your product offering to better appeal to customers. Most importantly, talk to your customers and your employees. Find out what they like and what they feel can be improved upon.

Finally, check your business listings and information and make sure everything is still up to date. Did you change your hours or move locations? Do you have a new offering that you're not promoting yet? Make sure you’re moving into the new year prepared and ready to tackle whatever comes your way, with goals that you’re committed to achieving.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed? We’ve got your back. When it comes to setting goals and creating a new plan to fit the new year, we’re here to help. Reach out to Rocket Fish Digital today, and let us help get your business headed in the right direction in 2021.