Dear business owners and leaders we feel you — it’s almost the end of the year. You might feel like you are running out of runway to do all the things before 2024 closes. But don’t panic! Here are a few pointers to help you prioritize and set your business up for success next year.
Marketing Planning at the End of the Year
Need a short list of what to do to start your next year in marketing off right? From a marketing perspective, check these off the list:
First, set your marketing goals.
Then, define strategies to align with those goals.
Next, define or redefine your target client or customer. Remember, you are probably not your target audience, and your business cannot be all things to all people. Focus is key.
Make sure content strategy for January is defined. Outline your content calendar to get a jump on organizing and posting when the holidays end and work begins again.
For social media and blogging, develop your copy and create the visuals for your posts now, and get them queued up and ready to go January 1.
Email marketing for January means developing your content now, and the creative that is aligned with the content so you’re ahead of the calendar and know what to focus on for January content.
Overall, other marketing initiatives are worth considering. What worked this year and what other new ideas do you have for 2025? Think about where you need to be marketing-wise in the coming year.
Set your marketing budget. Initiatives you have planned for 2025 will be determined by this. Remember, don’t waste anyone’s time on the next big idea or initiative if you are not willing to invest what it takes to accomplish that idea. Budget for your marketing as accurately as you can now.
Rev Up for Beginning-of-the-Year Business at the End of the Year
From a business perspective, have you done these things? Getting your business ready for 2025 involves your whole team. First, get them onboard with your business plan and then show them how it relates to them with these three tips:
Share your Q1 priorities for the business and calendar them with your team.
Set a team kickoff meeting in Q1 to set the tone for the new year.
Focus on strengthening company culture with this kick off meeting and other types of team touchpoints, activities and communications.
Now Look Forward to A Great New Year of Success
The new year will be bright. Strap in and get things done. But you can do it. The Front Porch Marketing team is here to help. Let us make 2025 the best year yet for your brand and business.
Establish the 2024 Marketing Plan for Your Business
The fourth quarter is 2024 marketing plan time. And there is still time to accomplish this important business exercise to cultivate growth in your business. Are you ready for 2024? On the Porch, marketing plan meetings are set with clients through early December to get ‘er done. It keeps the business and team focused. Save valuable resources — time and money — by creating yours now. Holler if Front Porch Marketing can help!
Marketing Plans 101
So, where to start? We would be happy to help, of course. But, if you want to tackle it on your own, let us help entertain you.
Start by asking yourself the question “What are your 2024 business goals?” Marketing plans should align with what your business is trying to achieve.
Once the marketing budget has been inked, set your marketing goals. Goals should always be measurable and be able to be tracked on a monthly or quarterly basis. Measuring your progress is important! Define how success will be measured.
Next, analyze your company’s situation and create or update the SWOT analysis. And then, analyze where competitors sit within the space. Then, define or redefine the target clients or customers.
Bring Your Marketing Plan to Life
Now that you have the start of a marketing plan written, think about how you will fulfill it. Set your marketing strategies. Strategies are long-term and create the pathway through to the business’s mission. They drive all of the marketing activities.
Next, define your marketing tactics. Will you be using advertising? Social media? Media relations? How will you execute against your strategy? Tactics are more detailed and have a shorter time frame. And tactics are action oriented. Think of tactics as the answer to how strategies will come to life. Are there tools in place for reporting on your company’s tactical success? Who is responsible for reporting and measurement? Set your structure in place for next year.
Finally, create a marketing timeline for all these activities. What needs to be completed and when? Make notes on who is responsible for tactical execution and when.
Review What Worked and What Didn’t in 2023 to Make 2024 Better
Make sure to revisit the marketing plan from time to time. Audit last year’s efforts, and this year’s efforts to gain insight on what to do better next year. Some folks do it quarterly, some more frequently. And cheers to your business success through strategic, thoughtful branding, marketing, advertising and marketing communication in 2024!
It is probably safe to assume your company has a marketing plan. That’s document detailing the strategies to market your products and services to the defined target audience. However, do you find your company falls short in executing the plan? That’s where the Content Calendar comes in!
Let’s face it, priorities change, and problems come up. Next thing you know, it is six months down the road, and you have forgotten what was in the original plan, let alone followed through with implementation. And this lack of follow-through can negatively impact your business.
Follow Through on your Plan with a Content Calendar
One way to eliminate this situation is by developing a content marketing calendar. By definition, it’s a tool that helps you plan and execute your marketing strategy. It turns your plan into actionable deliverables.
Creating a marketing content calendar may seem daunting at first, but in its simplest form, consider it a living, breathing document used to plan your content. The amount of detail and layout can vary according to your organization’s preferences. At a minimum, it should contain a separate column or tab for your platform(s), content to be published, and the publishing date.
How to Create a Marketing Content Calendar
It may seem overwhelming but consider these key pieces of information as you start to plan your content calendar.
What marketing platforms do you use? Social media, email marketing, blog posting. No matter what platforms you utilize, it’s most efficient to keep track of your content in one document.
Determine how often you publish content. Do you post to your social media channels three times a week? Do you send a monthly email or maybe a weekly communication? How often do you write blog articles? Twice a month?
Create your content calendar. It’s recommended to plan your content at least one month in advance using either an excel spreadsheet or a Google Sheet. Create a separate tab for each marketing platform (social media, email marketing, blog articles, etc.). For social media, create a new tab for each month of content.
Plan your content. Consider key dates to promote your product or service. Do you have an upcoming product launch or event? Are there specific holidays or national days you want to highlight?
Build out your calendar. After you’ve answered all the questions above, add those items to your content calendar. Plug your content into the assigned content tab for each month or week.
Next Step: Executing Your Content
The next step is to add additional levels of detail. Consider the supporting images and content needed for each social post, email, blog article, on your content calendar. Assign ownership and build out timelines. Who is responsible for image creation, content development, social media posting and building and launching emails?
Now it’s time to see the benefits of your hard work pay off. Publish your content and monitor your results using analytics. Find out what content and images generate the greatest response and what fell short. Test your messages and images. Change your content accordingly. Be creative and…HAVE FUN!!! It all starts with a good content calendar.
It is terrible, I know, but they are so funny! Perhaps because they are relatable. You see something, you think you can do it, it turns out differently than you planned.
“The more the plans fail the more the planner’s plan.” Ronald Reagan
It’s time to evaluate your marketing strategy for the second half of the year. With Q1 in the rearview mirror, and Q2 well underway now is the time to plan what comes next.
We wax the marketing plan lyrical often, additional reading can be found by searching Marketing Plan right here on Off Your Rocker, because it is a topic we keep coming back to because it is that important. Running through your activities, business, leisure or really anything without a plan often leads to failure and even the best laid plans fail. When and if plans start failing it is time to dig and plan some more.
Planning 101: Be Proactive
For any project or initiative to succeed, it must be carefully thought out. One of the key qualities of any project manager is to be proactive. This comes because of good planning. Proactively address potential problems and prepare possible ways to fix them while they are still predictions. Challenges like inadequate funds and resources, low staffing, or poor time management – are likely to arise in any plan. Effective planning lets you see them and fix them before they hinder the desired outcomes.
(L) Original plan: Pretty Flowers, except they ran all together, plan fail. (R) Plan pivot results! Artist credit: Moontower Design | Facebook
Pinterest Fail? Evaluate and Pivot
It is easier for teams to pivot from a plan versus starting from scratch. Existing plans guide and ground activity. Even if an initiative or project is failing or failed pivot and plan some more! In the pivot remember the importance of staying positive and true to your brand.
Now is the time to look at the 2022 plan and evaluate what stays in, what stops and what needs to be added. Let’s get ready for the second half and move forward with purpose and intention to thrive the rest of the year. If you need a marketing planning partner, give us a holler!
The secret to business success for 2022 is to start planning for it now. Many of our clients are reviewing their business plans, marketing plans and strategies for achieving their goals. Planning ahead for next year is a valuable way to invest in your business. You can know ahead of time what to do next and be proactive – not reactive. Making and having plans helps you guide your actions with efficiency and effectiveness.
Planning Ahead for Next Year, Now
Rounding the corner on Q3 2021, now is the time to plan for business success in 2022. So dust off your business plan. Does it still resonate with your goals for success? First, take the time to review the foundation of why you started this business in the first place. Make sure it still makes sense for you, for your time and energy, and for the market. Update it if you need to.
Next it is time to draft your marketing plan for 2022. Where to start? Look at your business revenue goals for the year. That number helps guide your marketing spend. Companies in 2021 spent 8.6% of topline revenue on marketing. Whatever your percentage is, don’t let this number be subjective. It is black and white.
Once you have your number, create a marketing plan. Without a roadmap, the squirrels and shiny objects will be your focus. Don’t let that happen. Staying on track to business success is much easier with a plan. Build your plan around repeating and expanding around prior success points, and adding new tactics that make sense. The plan you create can be annual or quarterly, but it can encompass many things: creative campaigns, paid advertising, PR, content or a new product or services launch. A solid marketing plan will create focus and executional excellence around several tactics working together toward a common goal. This approach will ultimately save you money, by getting you more bang for your buck.
Invest in Your Business Success
Invest in your business the smart way – and we don’t just mean monetarily. Your focused thoughtfulness and the time spent on your plan will be repaid. First, focus on your business successes by continuously improving your plan and your execution of the plan. How did your tactics for a specific campaign fare? Track and measure your results each quarter, and implement your findings into the next quarter’s plan to continue success and build momentum. Invest in the things that work. Pivot toward the successful strategies. Experimentation within the framework of your marketing plan can help you home in on insights that will get you to your revenue number for 2022.
Define Your Goals So You Can Reach Them
Define messages, targeted audiences, goals, strategies, tactics, timeline and budget. How can you reach your goal if it is not clearly defined? How detailed you are is up to you. What we have found on the Porch is that the partners that have defined their marketing budgets and plans have been successful. Being thoughtful upfront about your goals in all areas of marketing your business can set you up for business success in 2022 and beyond.
If you’re like a lot of businesses this year, you threw out your 2020 marketing plan and have been in triage mode for six months. Q4 is the perfect time to re-evaluate your company’s marketing plan to include a good marketing planning outline and process, messaging, strategies and brand.
This year’s best laid marketing plans were most likely laid to waste in the second quarter. It’s now Q4 of a very weird year – speaking from, well, every point of view – and everyone is working under the guise of not knowing what is coming next or when. Some businesses are continuing to just execute 2020 marketing strategies with messaging that is not currently relevant to growing their top line or their bottom line. Stop reacting and get proactive with your brand.
Typically, clients reflect and plan ahead this time of year, and this Q4 should be no exception.
In fact, we recommend doubling down on the planning. This year though, planning may look a lot like pivoting for most businesses. There is very little business-as-usual going on, and your company’s business plan should reflect that fact.
We are working with clients that are facing different year end results – from more than 75% decline in sales, to flat, to having the best year ever. We have clients who’s marketing plan has them pivoting completely and launching new brands, born of the new normal or a long-held dream. But the one thing all of our clients have in common right now is that they are planning in order to be able to continue to pivot if need be. They are ensuring that their future strategies will be on-brand even if the content has to change.
Now is the perfect time to step back from your business plan and take an objective perspective on your company’s state of affairs.
Is your brand’s marketing plan going in the right direction? Do you need a more focused or broader message? Are your communication strategies getting you in front of the right customers on the right social media channel? Is your brand voice in tune with the state of the world? Know who you are, what you stand for and how to communicate that mission to your customers. What is your highest and best use? When you have a plan, this is how you can frame all of your future content – even if it keeps changing.
Plan ahead to pivot.
Planning a marketing infrastructure to put in place now and building on it through Q1 and Q2 of next year can help pivot your brand toward a new goal, refine your mission and elevate your relevancy. Have a plan in place to be able to address the unknown needs of your customers as they arise in 2021. You don’t necessarily need the answers now, but you need to have a plan to be able to answer the questions your customers will have. Your marketing plan for next year should include key messages, strategies, a budget, timeline and content calendar through Q2 of 2021 to carry your company into Q3. Spend your marketing time wisely this quarter to build the brand you’ve always wanted to become next quarter and beyond.
Next up in the Rocker Spotlight series is Front Porch Rock Star Vanessa Hickman, where she shares her experience on the porch and things she has learned throughout her career.
Biggest Misconception about Marketing
The biggest misconception about marketing today is that there is one solution to advance brands in their marketing goals.
Advice You Would Give To Someone Struggling With Brand Identity
As a marketing maven and Front Porch Rock Star, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is “your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do”- Steve Jobs.
What is Good Marketing?
Above all, good marketing is intentional, consistent and precise.
Dinner With 1 Person Living Or Dead
If I could go to dinner with one person living or dead I would choose Jesus.
Describe Yourself in 3 Words
I describe myself as loyal, inclusive and loving.
Favorite Thing About FPM
My favorite thing about FPM is delivering results for a variety of clients. Above all, I would describe the culture at FPM as collaborative, caring and dedicated. Furthermore, FPM differentiates itself with its sound strategy, excellent execution and tenured team members.
Fun Fact
My fun fact is I graduated with a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts when I was 20 years old.
The Rocker Spotlight Series interviews each rocker on the porch. To begin, Chief Rocker Julie Porter shares marketing insights. Let’s dive in and learn more about this incredible business leader.
Favorite Thing About Front Porch
My favorite thing about FPM is being my own boss and doing what I love for clients I love while taking care of my loves.
Misconceptions and Lessons Learned
The biggest misconception about marketing today is that it is cheap and fast. Furthermore, there are three key points: good, fast and cheap. Your marketing can be any two of these but never all three.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is don’t be the biggest barrier to your own success- get out of your way and get stuff done. However, if you can’t get something done, delegate it to the smart people around you.
What is Good Marketing?
Good marketing is elevating the customer experience, building personalized connections, adapting to technology evolution, attracting customers using inbound and outbound marketing, and more.
Culture On the Porch
Our culture is one of straight talk, true partnership and aligned values. Therefore, the team at FPM all regards their families as their highest priority, and we are servant leaders who believe in service to ourselves, team, families, clients, and the communities in which we live and work.
Julie’s Characteristics
I would describes myself as quirky, competitive, and anxious. If I could be anywhere in the world it would be in my living room playing a game with my family since Andrew leaves for college this fall.
Fun Fact about Julie
I got to work with Renee Russo inside the NYSE to celebrate a client’s IPO. I’ve also worked with the Flying Elvi, the skydiving team from the movie “Honeymoon in Vegas,” all over the country to celebrate a promotion for an international sunglass manufacturer.
Thank you for reading! We hope you enjoyed Julie Porter sharing her marketing insights!
Over the last four weeks, strategic business leaders and
owners have come to us to go back to their branding and marketing foundations.
They are focused first on their team’s safety and well-being. Most talk of the
“return to normal” and taking it “day by day.”
They use this time to re-evaluate and plan. The COVID-19 crisis is causing business leaders to be strong and agile. One of our favorite client quotes over the last several weeks is, “With drive, passion and desperation, we will RISE!”
David McCormick, the C.E.O. of the hedge fund Bridgewater, was a Treasury Under Secretary during the 2008 crisis. At that time, he said, “America must step up to retain its economic might.” This rings true today.
Step up we must.
Another business leader told us recently, they feel like everything is, “Ready. Aim. Fire.”
Define or re-evaluate brand architecture. Think of this as the foundation of your brand. It has four pillars: brand vision, brand personality, positioning and affiliation. Our branding process is collaborative. It builds conviction. The process is built upon perceptions and goals held internally by key stakeholders. Using all points of view, we ensure brands are both differentiating and emotionally relevant.
Build or revisit your marketing plan. Every business should have one. Marketing drives new business development. Without those sales, you do not have the resources required for your business’s long-term stability and success. Therefore, as important as these plans are, most business owners and leaders do not devote enough time and resources to them. We tell our clients use a rifle vs. shotgun approach. Your services and/or products are not for everyone. The plan focuses on key targets who are most likely buyers. Think fewer, deeper. As a result, more meaningful strategic initiatives on a consistent basis develop connections and broaden awareness.
Re-evaluate or enhance your website. Is your website true to your brand? Its personality? Is the navigation user friendly? For instance, lucrative website loads fast and is mobile friendly. In other words, make your site work hard for your brand. Don’t get the veto vote because it doesn’t.
Successful business owners and leaders take the time to develop their brand architecture. Then, they develop marketing strategies and plan to build a company with a purpose. Above all, remember, “With drive, passion and desperation we will RISE!”
And now for the second installment of our two-part series on The Great 8 of Marketing Success. Numbers 5-7 are distinctly digital in nature and deal with how you can communicate and meet your customers where they are. Our last recommendation caps off our series with a decidedly human touch.
Number 5: Website
Prospects – both clients and candidates – are going to your website to validate your company and expertise. Make sure you are communicating your point of differentiation and your brand personality.
Most service sites look the same, sound the same and make
the same mistakes. Take a look at your website and see if you can take it to
the next level:
Eliminate the word “we.” Replace it with “you”, “your”, “our clients”, or “our candidates.” It seems like a small distinction, but you might be surprised by how much more customer-centric your copy will sound once you replace one word.
Include links to your social networks. And if you already have links to your social networks – great! Are they up-to-date? Or do you still have a link to your Google+ account? ( Hint: you might want to delete that one.)
Sell results and testimonials. Third party endorsements go a long way and potential customers want to see the value you can bring to their company.
Use minimal stock photos. We get it – when you were getting your website off the ground, you used whatever you had on hand to get it done. But stock photos can reduce the credibility of your company and take from the authenticity of your brand. Make the investment and book a professional photographer.
Optimize the site for mobile. No one likes to pinch and zoom on their phone when they are trying to view a website. And increasingly, Americans of all ages are likely to say that they mostly access the internet on their smartphone.
Make it easy for people to contact you with a form and make sure your phone number and email address are front and center.
Number 6: Social Media
Consumers are increasingly using social media to not only connect with friends and family, but also with brands. Social media is increasingly influencing consumers’ buying behavior:
When consumers follow a brand on social media, 67% of consumers are more likely to spend more with that brand.
Social media can drive retail foot traffic: 78% say they will visit that brand’s physical retail store.
These results become even more pronounced when you narrow in on millennials: 84% said they were more likely to buy from a brand they follow on social media.
But, don’t count out older folks – young people may have been early adopters of social media, but older adults using social media has increased as well.
It’s easy to be overwhelmed by social media. That’s why we
recommend narrowing your focus and pick two social networks to be active on
daily. Most social networks are monetizing their platforms so organic social
media, i.e. free, is becoming less effective, which is why you must be active consistently.
But which platforms should you choose? It depends. We recommend meeting your customers where they are. With almost a third of the world’s population using Facebook, the 500-lb. gorilla in the room might be a given. If you have an aspirational brand whose customers skew female and under the age of 49, Pinterest or Instagram may be a good fit. If you are more of a B2B company, look at joining YouTube, LinkedIn or Twitter.
Also, make sure you are connecting with the people you meet,
whether you are introduced virtually or in person. Utilize both your personal
timeline and create a company account if you don’t already have one.
Number 6.5: Social Media Content
As for content, have you ever been to a party and you were cornered by that one guy who talks about himself all night? Don’t be that guy.
Instead follow the rule of thirds: 1/3 of your content should be devoted to sharing content, 1/3 to engaging with others and 1/3 promoting yourself. Share open positions at your company, business successes and company news, just don’t let all your content be about you.
Number 7: Email Marketing
Email marketing doesn’t have to be crazy complicated or
expensive. Email marketing is inexpensive and effective. If done correctly, you
will be surprised at the results you see after every send.
Use a simple automated platform like MailChimp and send an
email to your audiences once a month, or if you are just starting out, once
every other month. Make sure you are updating your databases and are not
sending the same content to both your clients and candidates.
Target your content to the reader and use your email
marketing to establish yourself as a thought leader. Share information and
expertise. This is especially true for B2B businesses; email marketing is most
effective if you are sharing news people can use. At Front Porch, this is the
direction we choose to take with our email newsletter. We offer marketing advice
and highlight our clients.
Similarly to social media, do not use email marketing to talk 100% about your company or you. It will not work.
Number 8: Networking
We are very fortunate to have several places to network in
North Texas – industry associations, chambers of commerce, community
organizations and the list goes on.
In deciding which group is right for you, consider these things:
Can I learn and grow?
Are this group’s values aligned with mine?
Can I contribute my knowledge and skills?
Do we have common interests?
When you are at these meetings or events, remember:
Give to get. Focus on what you can do for others, not what they can do for you.
Make sure you have business cards. (I know that sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised.)
Ask questions and listen.
Follow up. Sometimes this is the hardest thing to do because we are all wearing so many hats, but it is important to connect on LinkedIn with people you met, send them an email and if the situation calls for it, send a handwritten thank you note.
As business owners, we need to network. We need to work “on”
our business as much as possible, not in our business.
Networking is a process. Remember that most business owners are looking for connections. Make time to network intentionally. Be bold and step forward into their world.
I urge you to not “go big or go home,” but as we tell our
small to mid-sized clients, “Fewer. Deeper.” Do a couple of things well and
knock it out of the park.
If you do your marketing well, then your target audience will come to trust your brand. Trusted relationships develop into emotional bonds that are hard to break. Consequently, loyalty to your brand means greater business success and reduced competitive threat.
Remember The Great
8. Engage your clients and candidates and turn them into customers and brand
ambassadors.
