Make marketing a priority this year | Brighter Marketing Blog

Make sure your marketing takes you where you want to go

January 2nd, 2009 | Tags: Marketing, Marketing plan, Marketing planning, Marketing strategy, Small business

A new year is upon us so this year make sure that you use marketing to help your business achieve it’s goals. Here are just a few tips to help you make 2009 the most successful year ever, despite what the gloom mongers may say…

A focused marketing approach has the power to revolutionise your business. However it also has the means to take you places that you might not want to go. You must make sure that you are clear about where you want your business to go before you spend money on marketing activities.

It may sound simple, but the vision for your business will be key indeciding the marketing strategy and tactics you need to employ to help you achieve your goal. It is also vitally important that this is communicated throughout your company. If your employees don’t know where you are heading, how can they help you get there? Everyone will be pulling in different directions and your marketing won’t be effective.

Make sure that you can answer the following questions

What is the vision for your business?
Make sure you are clear on where you are heading.
Have you developed a marketing strategy or approach that is aligned to the vision for your business?
Do you understand which marketing tools would be the most effective in getting you where you want to go?
Have you developed a simple month by month marketing plan that outlines the marketing activities you are going to undertake
Have you defined a marketing budget to implement your marketing plan?
Have marketing roles and responsibilities been defined and do you have the skills required to implement the marketing plan?

Take some time to really decide your company vision and what you want to achieve over the next year. What will your business look like, what will you be selling and who are your ideal customers? And more importantly, how marketing will help you get there.

When you have set your plan and budget, review it with a creative eye. Do you have to direct mail so many prospective customers? Could you target them more accurately and select less with a more creative campaign? Just think how your budget could be more usefully employed with a well thought out tactical marketing campaign.

Just take some time to think and make every marketing activity you do this year count!