The halls are decked with holly and your favorite holiday songs have returned to the radio. The Holiday Season is here, and companies are looking to finish out the year strong. As we head into 2023, you should have already built or re-evaluated your marketing plan.
Today, strategic marketing builds credibility for your brand and fosters engagement with consumers. A carefully crafted marketing strategy provides structure and meets goals while remaining flexible to emerging changes.
Did you consider these important factors while planning for the new year?
Set Realistic Goals
Setting specific, attainable objectives that align with your business goals makes follow-through easier.
Do you want to increase brand awareness or outreach? Do you want to retain current customers or attract new clients? Plan or revise accordingly.
Whether you’re making your plan or checking it twice, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are necessary, as they provide metrics to adequately measure the impact of marketing efforts.
Assess Your Target Audience
Identify your target market or determine how it might be changing. That portion of your marketing plan may be due for an update. This is a good time to add in buyer personas if you haven’t already done so. Buyer personas should include demographic and psychographic information such as age, gender, marital/family status, geographic location, education, annual household income, personal values, and interests. Accurately identifying your target audience will allow you to tailor your strategy and content to them.
Keep an Eye on Marketing Trends and Anticipate New Ones
The marketing world moves fast. It’s not enough to simply keep up with the times: you must stay ahead of them. Which content format is gaining the most traction? Which social media platforms are used the most? Which are declining in popularity? By actively evaluating (and re-evaluating) trends, you can tailor your efforts accordingly and remain relevant to your audience.
Content Audit
Bet you forgot this one! Run an audit of the content that’s displayed across your media channels. It’s a chance to evaluate what’s working, what’s not, and where there’s room for improvement. A good content audit will come in handy when it’s time to plan media campaigns. You’ll have already identified new SEO opportunities, content gaps, and which content can be repurposed.
Adaptability is a Must
Half of all global website traffic is generated from mobile devices. Adjust your efforts to ensure that content and websites are optimized for mobile viewing. Staying flexible and adapting to changing consumer habits will build credibility for your brand.
SWOT/Competitor Analysis
Identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) for your company and content. A SWOT analysis identifies the internal and external factors that can determine if your marketing goals are met. This allows you to evaluate your company’s best qualities and minimize any weaknesses.
If you’ve already built or are building your plan, you would do well to look beyond your organization and include an analysis of your competitions’ offerings and marketing efforts. A competitor analysis gives you a better idea of what you’re up against. This allows you to see what is working for them and where their shortcomings lie. It also helps determine what sets your business apart and how to better present your product/services to consumers.
Review Your Marketing Channels
During this process, you’ll evaluate the channels, tactics, and deliverables for your marketing plan. Email marketing, digital advertising campaigns, organic content, traditional advertising – there are numerous directions you can take, but the goals you established and the audience you identified at the outset will tell you which way to go.
Remember that, in a post-pandemic marketing world, innovation separates those who remain relevant from those who are being left behind.
Plan Media Campaigns
Build campaigns around your goals, buyer personas, and desired media platforms. This can span digital advertising, social media, email marketing, and traditional media. Campaigns can last anywhere from 90 days to 6 months or even upwards of a year, depending on the product/service and budget.
Already set to launch those ads? Supplement your efforts with a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy to drive your target audience to your website.
Establish or Adjust Your Timeline
Create a schedule to keep track of deliverables, milestones, and deadlines. Your timeline can include anything from campaign launches to social media posts. This helps you stay on track and identifies any factors that may slow you down.
Assess and Reassess Your Budget
What is your overall budget and what expenses do you expect? As the new year approaches, are there any changes on the horizon? Adjust your plan to adhere to your allocated marketing budget.
While your budget and timeline may shift, you should still be able to show the projected return on investment of your marketing plan. Your budget should also account for external circumstances such as a possible recession or cutbacks in resources.
Assign Team Roles
Even if your 2023 plans are set and approved, go a step further and assign roles and responsibilities to the members of your marketing team. Clarify which employees are responsible for different aspects of the plan. Paint a clear picture of expectations and shared responsibilities for team members. Maximize your abilities by utilizing a marketing/PR agency to carry out your vision when you require additional support.
A proper marketing plan gives you a competitive advantage and allows you to effectively engage with audiences. Staying up to date on marketing and consumer trends allows you to quickly respond to customers’ needs and expectations. Niki Jones Agency, Inc. excels in the strategic marketing process, producing data-driven campaigns and measurable results for our clients. Visit our website here or call us at (845) 856-1266 to discuss creating a comprehensive marketing plan for your company.
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