It’s time to get even more serious about your marketing and, rather than continue repeating the same and expecting a different result, setup 2020 so you can SOAR.
Here are 10 Ideas to help you fail BETTER in marketing (must-do’s) to prepare your business post pandemic..

1. Plan For Failure, Not (Just) Success

The purpose of this is not to be negative or think you’re going to fail. Planning for failure is actually a SMART move; it helps you be more objective, will give you more perspective, keeps you on your toes and, if things do go pear-shaped, you will be best prepared to move on as fast as possible. And remember, you can always change your plan, but only if you have one!

2. Know your Marketing Budget: Where’s it Going? What’s it Generating?

Know what is and isn’t working in your current marketing plan. Pay-per-click content and social media engagement are easy to track, for your other lead-generation it’s time to wake up and smell the digital age: marketing automation and CRM technology are your new best friends.

3. Where are your MQLs coming from?

So you’ve had some people engage with your site and now it’s time for sales to take over, great! But do you know where they come from in the first place? What aspect of your marketing strategy generated your new MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads) over the last year/quarter/month/week? Or take it one step further and find the correlation between your marketing expenditure and the revenue generated by new leads – now we’re talking business!

4. Reaffirm the Relationship with Sales

Marketing and sales are two cogs in the same machine – duh (the dynamic duo)! – but how many companies have actually nailed this? The threshold between generating interest and passing leads over to sales is not a grey area, but a clearly defined process with effective protocols and systems in place – what does your marketing through sales process look like?

5. Know thy Message!

Is your messaging and mission statement consistent across all channels of marketing, website and client conversations? If you don’t know what it is you’re trying to achieve, chances are your target audience don’t know either.

6. “The Medium is the Message”

Is your choice of marketing material doing its best to convey your message? Could it be better said in a podcast, eBook, video, blog? If this isn’t something you know how to do, that’s what sales and marketing experts are for. Seek help!

7. Optimise your Marketing: help your Sales Team soar!

Everyone’s marketing processes could work more efficiently and generate more leads. Fact. It is the job of marketing to ensure that sales know what to say and how to leverage your company. Know the challenges and goals of your client facing team and know they are living your company’s culture. At the end of the day if the sales team are stalling it might be wise to ask your marketing team why. Maybe it’s time to think bigger and enlist in some outside help to develop your team or expand offshore.

8. Content, Content, Content

Is your content consistent across all your platforms, pages and departments? Are your keywords doing the best possible job to reach your target audience? Time to get on Google and be on top of the keywords that rake in the traffic in your industry. This is vital if you want to outshine your competitors.

9. Be Social Media Savvy

Make a list of all the social media influencers in your industry that you want to target for 2018. This is a sure-fire way to bring more traffic to your pages in the new year. Clear timeframes, a clear strategy and knowing what your audience wants to see is how you use social media to its maximum capacity.

10. Evaluate how you will Achieve your Goals

Are you currently equipped to smash your KPIs and have your business soar off the blocks next year? Who will execute your marketing plan with you? What skills, attributes, and expertise do you have (or need to develop) within your team to exceed your goals? Realise the gaps and fill them.

As the saying goes… “Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail” BUT if you are afraid to fail, you don’t deserve success. Nothing ensures you will make it, but it’s possible to fail better, more often and with a positive upside that ensures you will go much further than you thought you could. Make 2018 the precedent for all your booming years to come. Know your market, know what needs to be done and don’t take no for an answer!

Start now with our complimentary Discovery & Growth Sessions – and see how we’ll make sales, marketing, and team development easier for you.