Another great year is coming to an end, but even though 2022 is nearly over there is still plenty you can do to get you and your business ready to smash it out of the park next year. As much as I like to believe in dumb luck, the best way to achieve your business goals in 2023 is by curating and creating a stellar business plan that you can stick to for the year. Let’s explore this!
Why a Marketing Strategy?
Having a watertight plan will help you in more ways than one. First of all, since you have already done the heavy lifting and planning ahead of time you will have a little more spare time for non-business related activities thus bringing some balance to your life.
Secondly, by having a strategy ready for whatever comes your way, when life throws your business a curveball you are more likely to have the tools ready to help sort out the issue thus reducing the potentially stressful event into a mere annoyance.
Finally, a marketing strategy will bring clarity to the daily operations of your business and therefore reduce time wasted trying to figure out the best things to work on, which in turn will lead to faster smashing of your goals!
Reflection is key!
A good way to start your planning is by reflecting on what your business has been doing for the past year. Take a step back and reflect on how you have been running operations, ask yourself questions like: 1. What were the strengths of the business this year?
2. What were the weaknesses?
3. What did you find stressful?
4. Where did you gain & lose money?
5. Did the business grow?
6. Were goals achieved + how?
7. Did I face anything unexpected + how can I better predict XYZ before it happens?
8. What did I like + what didn’t I like about the way I ran my business?
Find the time to go in depth and ask yourself questions and analyse the way you ran your business; it will take some time but trust me it will help with your planning in the future. Be sure to write down these reflections too.
Draft up!
Once you have reflected until you can’t reflect anymore, then the fun begins! Use your reflections and findings to start drafting a new marketing strategy and plan for next year. Look at the aspects of your business you want to change and start figuring out how you’d like to do so. Start by planning month by month so you don’t get overwhelmed with the big picture. Then from there, narrow it down to plan week by week, then if you’re really detail-oriented plan day-to-day operations. The tighter your plan the stronger your attack will be for next year. If you can get your January marketing strategy looking crisp and clean your business will hit the ground running next year and you will thank yourself for it. Don’t forget that January is always a great time to increase your prices, so make sure to have those figures ironed out so you don’t miss your chance ?
Plan, Plan, Plan.
Planning may seem a bit daunting at first and depending on your learning style or business approach may even be challenging. But luckily, there is not really a wrong way to plan! So long as your plan is clear to you and in some kind of easy-to-follow format you’re good as gold. If visuals are your thing, try planning using a mind-map format or colour coding to your heart’s content. If you love structure then an excel spreadsheet or formatted document might be the way to go. The possible plan & strategy approaches are endless so finding the right one may take a hot minute, but once you identify what works for you, your life will be made so much easier!
Need help. Talk to the experts
If you are really struggling to figure out your marketing strategy and you need a bit of expert advice, our fearless leader Chrissy Symeonakis is the lady for the job.
Chrissy offers a variety of 1 on 1 coaching options. In these sessions, Chrissy will fill your brain to the brim with awesome marketing tips, tricks, and ideas. We are now taking bookings for January Marketing, business and strategy calls with Chrissy where together you map out your business and brand goals for 2023.
The call lasts 1.5 hours and is hosted via zoom. At the end of the call you’ll receive the recording, then afterwards Chrissy will provide you your own marketing planner and strategy for the next 12 months.
The cost is $499 with only a deposit required to secure your spot, then paid off in installments before the booking.
To find out more or book yourself a spot email chrissy@creativelittlesoul.com.au