Reexamine Your Brand When Setting 2021 Marketing Goals

January 4, 2021

Now is a great time to revamp your marketing initiatives and then craft an effective strategy for the new year. Planning now allows you to get the ball rolling quickly when you head back to work after the holidays. Here are some essential elements outlining the most critical actions you and your team should consider.

Revisit Your Customer Base
Who are your customers today, and what is important to them? Who makes purchasing decisions in a family for your type of product or service? Creating a Customer Profile helps you understand how best to reach potential customers and position your business within those demographics.

Consider New Descriptions for Products & Services 
What are you selling, and why should your target audience want to buy it? What are the features and benefits of your products or services? Take time to go through your marketing materials, website, and social media channels to determine whether or not it is time to revamp the language you use to describe your business and products.

Think Benefits 
Customers don’t think in terms of products; they think in terms of benefits and solutions. Your marketing plan should identify how your goods and services help your customers solve a problem or meet a need. That way, efforts like Advertising Spend, Awareness Promotions, and Partnering with the Media will be more likely to pay off.

Evaluate Competition
Your top goal is to stand apart from the competition.  This begins by understanding them. Gather information about their products, services, quality, prices, advertising, and how these things have changed over the last year. What does the competition do best for their customers? What are their weaknesses? Once you’ve gathered that information, you can create a marketing plan that highlights the unique advantages you offer to customers.

Remain Loyal to Your Brand Mission
How customers perceive your business makes a dramatic impact on your sales. Your marketing program should consistently reinforce and extend your Brand Mission. Go one step further by developing a clear, professional Business Identity (if you have not already) that reflects your ideals and goals as a brand.

Reevaluate Your Goals & Budget 
What do you want to achieve in the next year? In the next three years? How much can you spend this year to achieve those results?

Monitor Results 
Always seek the greatest possible return on your marketing spend. This means evaluating the results of each element of your marketing program. Measuring Advertising Effectiveness provides a simple way to analyze your results objectively. Don’t simply throw dollars at advertising. Find out what works and continuously seek to improve your returns.

If developing an overall marketing plan seems too complicated, get outside help. You can find several free templates for marketing plans online or contract a marketing firm to advise you on a broad range of initiatives.