Even with the never-ending array of apps aimed at making our lives easier, my favorite way to set priorities is as old school as you can get: Pen and paper.
A creature of habit, I write out a to-do list of what I need to do, what I’d like to accomplish and other items that have to be done, but not in the immediate future.
Yet, when it comes to marketing a business or nonprofit group, people sometimes forget that there’s a degree of planning involved.
- Define your goals
Are you setting goals with your marketing campaigns?
Before undertaking any promotion or marketing efforts it’s important to have clear objectives of what you hope to achieve. Do you want to convert more sales, increase traffic to your Website or become the authority in your niche? Setting goals will help you keep a clearer focus.
- Be strategic
Once you lay the groundwork for goal-setting, it’s important to devise a strategy on how to make your brand awareness goals a reality. If a higher number of sales are your goal, what would be the best way to accomplish that? Until you know the answer to that question your goal will continue to elude you.
- Set a timeline
Making your brand into a household name would be nice, but it’s important to remember that marketing takes time and requires a certain amount of repetition. Think about how many times you see a commercial on TV or how frequently you hear the Geico spot on the radio. Consider setting a timeline for what you need to achieve now, as well as an overview of what’s planned for the future. To keep yourself on track I suggest setting a target date for each task.
- Measure, measure, measure
While you may have the means and ambition to carry out your entire marketing plan in one fell swoop, it might make more sense to take on tasks incrementally. It will be much easier to measure the success one campaign at a time. If you can’t measure its success (or failure), don’t do it.
- If it’s broke, don’t do it
As business owners sometimes we operate in a vacuum, following marketing principles that may have worked in the past, simply because. If something you’re doing is not working for your business – no matter how much you want it to work – just stop doing it. Or, at the very least, modify your approach.
