The New Year is always the time for resolutions. Although you may have a few personal ones in mind, the business owner should consider making attainable resolutions for their business in 2010. Scratching your head about what to focus on? Here are some achievable goals for your business for the New Year.
Create a Marketing Plan
When was the last time you evaluated your marketing plan? It’s probably about time to do so, especially with the economy and marketing changing so much over the past few years. Hold a meeting to brainstorm and draft up a plan. The main goal of this plan should be to understand your customer’s needs and provide for them. The needs of your customers have most likely changed over the past few years, if even only slightly. It also gives you a chance to take a look at your strengths and weaknesses and to research your competitors. Use this plan throughout the year as something to refer to. You don’t always have to follow it to a T. You can always add fresh, new ideas throughout the year as well.
Get to Know Your Top Customers
List your top customers by sales in the past year. Is there something similar about them? Are they from a certain geographic region, age group, marital status? Focus on what more you can do for them and where you can find more just like them. If you keep these customers happy chances are you will be flooded with referrals for new customers from your current ones.
Invest in Email Marketing in the New Year
If you don’t use email as a way to reach your current and potential customers, you should start doing so in 2010. There are several easy-to-use email service providers available at very affordable prices, such as Constant Contact. Email marketing is a great way to keep your name in the minds of your current customers by sending out a newsletter. Email marketing has been proven to be especially successful during the holiday season.
Conduct a Survey
The best advice you can get to improve your marketing efforts and business is from your customers. Are you currently listening to the feedback you are getting or are you just brushing it off? Maybe you aren’t getting any feedback. If you aren’t you should seriously consider conducting an online survey of your current customer’s thoughts about your marketing efforts. You can conduct a survey via email or by placing a link to the survey on business websites, blogs and social networks. SurveyMonkey.com is a very popular way to conduct surveys. Customers love to feel involved in this way and the feedback generated will be instrumental in helping you improve your marketing strategy and company as a whole.
Create Social Media and Network Profiles
It’s time to get with the times. Everyone who is anyone uses one or more “social media” websites on a daily basis. Whether it be Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or any of the hundreds of others available on the internet. With this media you are able to communicate on a personal level with your customers, blog, communicate in the quickest way possible, monitor comments and feedback, and seem like a company that is up to date with the latest and greatest technology. It’s not only young people who are using these mediums anymore, it is everyone. If you don’t get on board you may be losing out to your competition. It is unbelievably simple to create profiles and keep them updated.
Keep Your Resolutions!
Most importantly strive to keep your business resolutions for the New Year. This one is probably the hardest to keep, just like personal resolutions, but if you don’t keep them, what good are they? It may seem overwhelming but start small and try to tackle a new resolution each month.
