Planning, Persistence, Patience – Marketing’s New 3 P’s
Happy New Year! We’ve been given a gift of new opportunities. And to quote Margaret Thatcher: “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win them.” Yet with planning, patience, and persistence, these opportunities will lead to great things.
After more than 30 years of business ownership, we can certainly attest to Thatcher’s bit of wisdom. It’s the good, the bad, and even the ugly that has helped JMS Marketing grow and evolve through the years. Yet we’ve built in plenty of time along the way to pause, listen and think things through as our industry – and industries our clients represent – continued to ebb and flow.
If you’re like most businesses, your intentions of documenting a marketing plan during the final months of last year were disrupted. No need to panic.
In business, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, or simply have a lack of clarity. And if we’ve learned anything from the past two years, there will always be need to overcome roadblocks to growth (technology, data, culture, and more). However, it’s not necessary to handle all the roadblocks at the same time. The trick is to know how to prioritize, conduct regular assessments, and stay focused on your goals.
We’ve all been flooded with marketing strategies and technologies that guarantee an easy way to obtain those coveted sales contracts. There’s plenty out there, but not every approach is right for every company and/or product. Correction: YOUR company and/or product. That’s where the planning comes in. Take it down to the basics this month and plan your strategy – at least for the first quarter of the year.
- Identify your key goals: products/services on which to focus as well as their territories, industry markets, and of course, sales. Don’t forget to nurture your existing clients.
- Determine what to do: set your budget FIRST, allocate marketing tactics and track activities/results monthly. Make sure you build in flexibility. Be realistic.
- Celebrate the wins/adjust accordingly: Track your analytics each month. Note how you obtained an appointment or landed a contract. Not impressed with your numbers? Learn from them and adjust your plan for the next month.
- Be patient. Marketing takes time. Nothing happens overnight. It’s not just a question of one big ad here or there or handing out a fistful of brochures at a trade show. People need to go through a certain process, and you need to reach them several times before they’re going to be ready to buy from you. Align with your clients’ expectations and be as dynamic as possible to keep up with the changing climate.
What are your client’s sales journeys? We’re here to help you identify them.