The first full business week of 2016. Time to clear out the holiday cobwebs and kick off 2016! So what will the year bring for you and your business?
10 Things to Assess about Your Business to Start 2016 Strong:
- Your Customer/Client Base: are you in an acquisition mode, expansion mode or retention mode?
- Value proposition: the corner-stone of your company’s marketing foundation. Is it solid? The 3 C’s of a solid value proposition: is it clear, compelling and consistent? Do you need to revise/update/enhance for the new year to address competition or logical evolution of what you offer in terms of value?
- Target audience: compare your ideal target audience to your existing customer base. What did you learn in 2015 that affects your ideal target audience? How can you better appeal to your ideal target audience in 2016?
- Your dream list: is your dream list in good shape going into the new year? Do you have a workable list of clients, prospects and suspects? Do you have a scalable process to manage and update?
- Sales Tool Kit by sales stage: what elements in your sales tool kit need to be updated? What elements are used most effectively? Where are the gaps that sales needs to more effectively move potential sales through the funnel?
- Client stories: what successes in 2015 have not been documented? How valuable could these stories be to support your goals in 2016?
- New employees: did you have new hires in 2015? Are you planning new hires in 2016? How are these employees being effectively on-boarded to know, understand and represent your brand? Who owns bringing these people onboard other than on the job training?
- What went well in 2015 that you need to ensure continues to go well in 2016?
- What did not go well in 2015 that you need to fix?
- Offerings/Products: any changes/updates to existing offerings? Any planned new offerings this year? What is the timeframe? What needs to be developed and prepared to effectively launch?
The start of a new year is a fresh start. We are bombarded with messages about making resolutions, planning for the new you. As you launch the first full week of the new year, make the time to take a step back, assess the above components that represent key elements of an effective marketing plan. Use these 10 items to help you organize and prioritize a plan for 2016. Make this a great year for your business. Make time for marketing. If it is part of your core expertise, leverage it. If it is not, don’t be a DIYer, secure the marketing talent you need to develop and execute a plan to get you to where you want to be in 2016.
Happy new year. Go get ’em.