How do you review and update your marketing plan and strategy regularly?

1 Analyze your performance

The first step to review and update your marketing plan and strategy is to analyze your performance against your key performance indicators (KPIs), such as sales, leads, conversions, traffic, engagement, retention, and loyalty. You should use data from various sources, such as analytics tools, surveys, feedback, and reports, to measure your results and identify your strengths and weaknesses. You should also compare your performance with your competitors and industry benchmarks to see how you stand out and where you can improve.

2 Evaluate your goals

The next step is to evaluate your goals and see if they are still relevant, realistic, and achievable. You should review your mission, vision, and value proposition and see if they still resonate with your target market and reflect your brand identity. You should also review your SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) objectives and see if they are still aligned with your business strategy and priorities. You may need to adjust, add, or remove some goals based on your performance analysis and market research.

3 Research your market

The third step is to research your market and see if there are any changes, trends, or opportunities that you need to consider. You should conduct a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) to assess your internal and external environment and identify your competitive advantage and potential challenges. You should also conduct a PESTEL analysis (political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal) to examine the macro factors that may affect your business and marketing strategy. You should also update your customer personas and segments and see if they still reflect your ideal customers and their needs, preferences, and behaviors.

4 Update your strategy

The fourth step is to update your strategy and see if it still matches your goals, market, and budget. You should review your marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion) and see if you need to modify any of the elements to suit your current situation and customer expectations. You should also review your marketing channels and tactics and see if they are still effective, efficient, and engaging. You may need to adopt new or different methods, such as online, social media, or content marketing, to reach and communicate with your audience.

5 Revise your plan

The fifth step is to revise your plan and see if it still supports your strategy and goals. You should review your action plan and see if it still outlines the specific tasks, responsibilities, resources, timelines, and budgets for each of your marketing activities. You should also review your contingency plan and see if it still covers the possible risks, challenges, and scenarios that may affect your marketing plan and strategy. You may need to update, prioritize, or delegate some of the tasks or allocate more or less resources or time to some of the activities.

6 Monitor and improve

The final step is to monitor and improve your marketing plan and strategy on a regular basis. You should track and measure your progress and results using the KPIs and tools that you have established. You should also collect and analyze feedback from your customers, employees, partners, and stakeholders to evaluate your performance and satisfaction. You should also test and experiment with different ideas, approaches, or variations to optimize your marketing plan and strategy. You should also be flexible and adaptable to respond to any changes, opportunities, or challenges that may arise.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?