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5 Marketing Tips to Get Next Year Off to a Successful Start

12/11/2020 | admin

As we say goodbye to 2020 (with great enthusiasm!), now is an ideal time to create your marketing plan for 2021. It’s going to be a unique year ahead, and your marketing goals should reflect this changing environment. With so many options, it can be challenging to know which strategies bring the most significant returns. We have some marketing tips on what areas to focus your resources on to hit the ground running in the new year.

#1 Look at your budget

One of the most important elements you’ll want to tackle right away is your marketing budget. On average, companies spend between 6% and 18% of their annual revenue on marketing, depending on their industry. Your strategic plan is a moot point if your budget can’t support it. Understanding your budget needs and limitations is critical. For example, perhaps you are looking to update your branding. Knowing your budget can help you determine if you want to undertake a complete rebrand or just a design refresh. Here are some questions that can help propel your company's marketing plan forward in the right direction.

What did you spend in 2020?
What was the return on your investment?
What programs and initiatives garnered results last year?
What didn’t work last year, and why?

#2 Deliver a consistent brand experience

It’s time to take another look at your brand experience. To grow, you need to examine the effectiveness and consistency of your brand experience, starting with how you present your brand across different mediums. For example, is the tone and look of your social media compatible with your packaging? Do your promotional products use different colors or logos? The basis of powerful branding is consistent delivery. Things can get especially messy if your business has multiple locations. One solution for ensuring consistency is to have all locations order their business and marketing collateral via an online ordering site like agOnline. In addition to making it easier to maintain consistent visual branding and messaging, a central online ordering platform can help control inventory, eliminate waste, improve delivery times, and reduce costs!

#3 Teamwork makes the dream work

2021 is the year to stay connected with your team. Remote workforces aren’t going anywhere soon, which means you’ll need to work a bit harder to ensure everyone feels connected and on the same page. New employees? Send them a welcome box filled with their business essentials plus a few extra ‘fun’ items like company-branded t-shirts and tumblers. Need to plan virtual events to replace in-person events, like conferences or leadership retreats? Create a shared experience by sending all attendees a box of ‘event swag’ that they can open simultaneously during a virtual meet and greet.

#4 Stand out with creative advertising

In today’s virtual business environment, creating a memorable connection with your customers takes on a whole new meaning. Emphasizing relevant and informative content in creative forms is innovation that will pay off. 2020 didn’t follow any rules, so why should you? While we don’t suggest you throw out all of your traditional marketing efforts, make it your goal to try something new and creative in 2021. Marketing solutions that think outside-of-the-box include:

Eye-catching window graphics, banners, or pop-up banners to remind customers that you are still here and ready to do business.
Video content that promotes interactivity and makes customers feel like they are right there with you.
Creative direct mail pieces, flyers, and posters.
Whatever you do, add some personality to your brand, and don’t be afraid to use it!

#5 Planning ahead in uncertain times

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COVID-19 has undoubtedly made planning ahead more complicated but it’s still important to have a strategic marketing plan and calendar in place. Doing so acts as a blueprint for implementing your marketing initiatives and helps you stay the course, even when waters get rough. Just be prepared and willing to pivot if needed. Examples of items to include in your marketing plan and calendar include goals, the tactics you’ll use to reach those goals, important deadlines and timelines, and methods to measure the ROI of your efforts.

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