5 Questions to Ask When Creating Your 2019 Marketing Plan

It’s the most wonderful time of year: next year marketing planning! If you are a Marketing professional, Small Business Owner or Entrepreneur this is the perfect time to not only reflect on how well this year went for your company, but also fantasize and strategize where you want your business to be by EONY (end of next year).

Pull reports and/or comb through databases and programs to take a look at data such as sales, revenue, dips/losses, processes, and expenditures as a preliminary step to see how your business performed. In doing this you will also be able to set a few initial goals for the future.

Tactical marketing planning is a necessity when it comes to businesses meeting sales and revenue growth quotas. As you forecast next year, determine what you’d like to accomplish, and understand how marketing will play a role, here are 5 questions to ask and/or consider.

1.    How much am I willing to spend? – Establish a marketing budget or predicted spend for promotional activities and initiatives.

2.    What channels or methods will I use to reach/meet those goals? – Know if you’ll be using direct mail, social media, email, etc. to reach your audience and potential customers.

3.    By how much am I looking to grow sales/revenue? – Have a firm number in mind that you are looking to hit. Too often the emphasis is on sales, but there is no set figure to aspire to, leaving tracking and success up in the air.

4.    What do I need or what do I need to do to meet my goals? – Understand what you’ll need or what you’ll need to do. Will you need to get a Social Media Coordinator? Will you need to invest in a branding and/or marketing firm? Will you need to buy a new software? Figure out what you’ll need and get it, or figure out what you need to do and implement it.

5.    What is trending and/how are my customer’s wants changing/shifting? – This is a biggie. Pay attention to your audience and how their behavior is changing along with technology updates.

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<3 Mika The Marketer