Only a few more days until the ball drops…
Are you ready to start another year with a bigger and better business?
It all depends on if you've set goals for yourself and your business in 2018.
Don't let January creep up on you without putting a plan into action.
Here are a few marketing resolutions you can use that have measurable and specific goals that are reasonable for almost any business!
Money Goals
Money is one of the most important things to budget before the new year gets started. It's easy to set a spending allowance, but many businesses fail at keeping up with it throughout the year. We've managed to create some simple but easy money goals that you can use to keep your budget intact and on track.
1. Refuse to purchase any product or service based on the number of views it will get your business.
Purchasing a marketing service or product that is simply advertised on the number of impressions is not a good enough reason to buy. Impressions are great, but there are other forms of data that are more helpful such as click-through rate, cost per click, and much more.
Don't be fooled by a high number of impressions. Always buy when long-term data or expense data is good, not when it's based on the number of eyes!
2. Only pay by what is delivered, not by what is said to you before the work begins.
Paying every single one of your partners or employees the same amount is just not realistic. Some individuals will work harder and produce more for your company, while others will do the bare minimum to get everything done.
Instead of paying a standard rate, base your pay off of what the results are. Rewarding those that work hard and punishing those that do not will be the easiest way to cut back on your expenses in the new year.
Data & Analysis Goals
If you're not using your data to find your real successes and failures, you need to do so in 2018. With so much information at your fingertips, with very little work on your part, you should be taking advantage of what you experienced in 2017 to better yourself for 2018.
3. Develop monthly reports and spend time looking over them at the beginning of each new month.
All it takes is a few clicks of your mouse to create a satisfactory report that shows you a snapshot of your successes and failures for the month. Take about 30 minutes of your day on the 1st of every month to review your results and make a note of what worked and what didn't. It will be 30 minutes well spent, and you'll learn to take the best trends and follow through with them through the year to see even more success!
4. Use your data from this year to develop a NEW ideal customer that fits a more specific community, not just key demographics.
Instead of focusing on standard demographics (age, gender, location) work towards using your data to find out what your customers are doing outside of work, what they are passionate about, and what hobbies and activities they participate in regularly.
The marketing world is all about finding your niche and capturing it. The process of owning your market niche involves getting to know your customer on the deepest level possible. Don't just worry about their income or education, use your data to figure out what they live, love, and breathe. Then use that to create better content, offers, products, and services.
Content Goals
Content is one of the first things new customers see revolving around your business. Whether it's an ad, blog post, or website copy, your goals in 2018 should include creating bigger, brighter, and better content to attract more customers to your site, store, or business.
5. Create engaging content each month that moves your ideal prospects through the buying stage.
Creating content shouldn't just be about getting information out all the time. It's helpful to create content just because, but that type of content should be created after you've developed your core pieces that move your ideal buyer through the purchasing process.
You should have content prepared each month that includes information that makes your audience aware of your company and what you do. Your next step will be to create pieces centered around evaluating your business and letting your viewers know you can handle their business responsibly.
The last piece of your content puzzle should revolve around conversion. Create offers that are irresistible to your new customers and integrate them into your content by adding a call to action at the end of your blog posts and videos.
6. Create content that has a purpose. Every time.
Content without purpose is just content. Why should anyone read your blog post if you just sat down to write and had no idea why anyone would read it?
Always create content with a purpose in mind to avoid wasted expenses, wasted time, and lack of engagement. It's always good to try something new and experiment, but if you haven't thought through the goals and processes of what will be needed to make it work, you're not ready!
Create with purpose, always.
Company Goals
Growing and bettering your company is always a goal you have, but you should have other micro-goals that build a stronger culture and community internally and externally every year. Without personal growth, you'll never see personnel growth.
7. Ask your employees what makes my company culture great and find ways to market your business through their feedback.
Customers are not just looking for a product or service to buy that fixes their problems. They want to do business with a company that takes care of its people and offers a one of a kind experience. Whether that's giving back to the community or developing a product that your employees use themselves, showing off your company culture and what makes it great is a fantastic marketing tool that establishes a loyal relationship between you, your buyer, and your employees.
8. Ask your customers what you did right and what you did wrong in 2017 to grow in 2018.
Companies that care about what their customers have to say are often the most successful. Speaking to your audience is great, but giving your audience the floor to talk back is powerful.
Not only do you learn more about what happened in 2017, but you also market yourself in a way that speaks to your consumer. Make adjustments based on the feedback you receive, and you'll be sure to see bigger and better conversions because you give your people precisely what they want.
Resolutions are Only as Good as You Make Them.
Goals are always a great way to start the new year, but they are often left behind because they are not specific enough or measurable.
For each of these goals you should write down:
- What you want to learn
- How much time you want to spend on each resolution
- How you will use these goals to be better in 2018
- When you will start these goals
- When you will complete them
Other ideas that can help you create more specific and measurable goals include:
- Set a budget for each goal or project before searching for materials, resources, or tools.
- Create a hypothesis based on previous data from 2017 for each month in 2018.
- Create a calendar for big projects each month that you know are coming up.
- Divide up each project into resources, team members, money, and materials needed before starting it. Include your ideal measurable data and weigh the pros and cons of moving forward.
Post these goals, hypotheses, and specific measurables somewhere everyone can see them every day. This will help hold you and your team accountable throughout the year.
Setting goals is the best way to start January off on the right foot. Take the time to sit down and make a few goals of your own for 2018 and see to it that you and your team will make a substantial effort at it as the days go on.
Don't start January off on a bad note. Make sure your marketing is up and running to grow your business from Day 1 of 2018 to see the best year of business you've had yet!
Not sure where to start with your marketing? Ask us how we can help get your set up and ready for a new year of growth and success!
See how we can help your business transform with our Lead SCALER process, making all of your Marketing New Year's Resolutions come true.
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