You might have a list of New Year’s resolutions, but does your business? Q1 is an exciting time to analyze where you’re at and chart a course to crushing your goals. The question that leaves everyone stumped: where do I start?
Reflect
The Q1 marketing playbook begins with reflecting on the previous quarter and year. By evaluating how each of your marketing tactics performed, you can distill what efforts led to meeting goals and KPIs, and what can be left in 2022. Maybe email marketing crushed it with conversions and it’s worth investing more in the new year.
Define Your Current Situation
A classic SWOT analysis is a great way to take the next step. By identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, your business has a launch point of how to thrive in the industry. Strengths and weaknesses can be drawn from reflecting on previous quarters and years while identifying opportunities and threats gives you a vision of what’s on the horizon. Where do you have an opportunity to grow your business? Is there an untapped audience or advertising strategy? As far as threats, are there new competitors? Are there any roadblocks to meeting goals? Collaborate with your team and glean a clear understanding of where your business stands.
Goal Setting
Goals should be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. SMART goals keep you on pace to meet and exceed your quarterly and annual benchmarks. Set aggressive goals but make sure they’re achievable – if doubling sales isn’t feasible for Q1, take necessary steps to make it reasonable down the road.
Map it Out
You have your goals – now it’s time to make a game plan for achieving them. Identify key deadlines, who’s accountable for each step of the process, and how budgets will be allocated. A clear set of goals allows you to move forward with confidence in achieving them and finding opportunities to improve as the year goes on.
Get on the Same Page
Communication is key! Loop in team members for extra insight on improvements and goal-setting expectations. Cross-departmental communication provides valuable insights and feedback that would otherwise go unnoticed. Keeping employees informed builds a sense of trust, and lays out a clear plan of what needs to be accomplished in Q1 and beyond. Don’t forget to let them know when they’re crushing goals and taking initiative!
Kick off Q1 in spectacular fashion by taking time to reflect and build a set of goals with your team to drive success throughout the year. Take time to do a deep dive of the successes and opportunities your business has ahead in 2023. Additionally, if it’s time for a little rebranding or reimagining what your brand could look like, there’s no better time to see where a Blueprint can take you.
