Last week, our blog explained the first three critical steps you should take to understand your position in the market before mapping out your 2023 marketing plan. In this week’s blog, we will take a deeper dive into the last 5 steps that will help measure your success and track your progress towards your 2023 goals.
- Determine key performance indicators (KPI’S) to track success
Tracking key performance indicators are a great way to measure growth, performance, and the overall health of your business. Understanding these metrics can give you a better sense of what’s working and what’s not. In turn, you will learn what adjustments need to be made to your strategic plan to execute your goals. It’s important to keep in mind that not all KPI’s are the right measuring tool for every business. Taking the time to know and measure the right KPI’s for your business will lead to achieving your desired results much faster.
- Research the market
Once your business’s marketing strategy is in place, it’s important to research what your competitors are doing as well. Here are a few things to think about when evaluating your competitors marketing efforts:
- Determine your top competitors and jot down their strengths and weaknesses.
- Compare your offerings to theirs. What’s working for them or what could be improved?
- Are there relevant trends in the industry? Will they impact you or your competitors?
By understanding the market and analyzing your competition, it can help you make better business decisions and avoid mistakes down the line.
- Set your marketing budget
Now that your goals have been outlined and you have extensively researched the market, you will have a better understanding of how much capital it will take to reach those goals. When you are laying out your marketing budget, make sure to set clear amounts for the various categories of marketing. Some common areas of spending in a marketing budget include:
- Paid ads
- SEO
- Email Marketing
- Public Relations
- Influencer/sponsorship costs
- Web design
Lastly, be sure to allocate an amount for contingencies. Keep in mind that marketing budgets help you plan for the long term, but there are many factors beyond your control. Allocating a set amount for contingencies can help you deal with a crisis, or even be used for an opportunity you just can’t miss!
- Outline your content strategy
Next, you will need to determine how you will use your content and identify the right channels to leverage the content. A successful content strategy should:
- Reinforce your brand identity
- Outline the different types of content you will leverage (i.e. social media posts, blog posts, YouTube videos, eBooks, ect.)
- Outline the channels and platforms you plan to use in distributing the content
- Clearly outline how frequently you will publish content each day/week/month
- Shows how you plan to create and promote your content
- Leave room for adjustments
No matter how specific and detailed your marketing plan is, you always want to be prepared for the unexpected. As we saw in 2020 with the COVID pandemic, it is impossible to foresee the extremity of unplanned events in the coming year. Anticipating the unexpected by making your plan flexible will help you be prepared to adjust to unexpected events need be.
Developing a strategic marketing plan with smaller, achievable actions will not only keep your company on track, but will make your big, audacious goals feel much more achievable. Strategic planning for a new year may seem like daunting work, but your company will benefit immensely in the long run. If your company needs assistance creating a perfectly crafted marketing plan for 2023, set up a FREE CONSULTATION with Oster and Associates!
