As one year ends and another begins, people typically use this time to establish new goals and resolutions that they want to accomplish in the coming year. The end of the year is also an ideal time to take a good look at your business and determine if your current marketing and communications strategies are working or if it is time for some big changes.
Having a strong communications plan can help increase awareness for your business and set you apart from the competition. After taking stock of your current situation, and determining some fine-tuning needs to take place, why not follow suit with the thousands of people making New Year’s resolutions and make your own that includes developing and executing a marketing and communications plan that will yield positive results for your business?
If you’re ready to start the New Year off with a bang, follow our four steps below that outline how to develop a strategic marketing and communications plan:
Identify your company’s goals
Just like a New Year’s resolution to eat better or start a workout program, determining what you want to accomplish with your marketing and communications plan is key. Whether you want to attract more customers or improve brand recognition, it is important to determine what will be achieved after your plan has been implemented. When establishing your goals, remember to keep them strategic, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely (S.M.A.R.T.), and limit them to no more than five.
Determine your target audiences
Who are you trying to reach and what do you wantto communicate to them? Determining your key audiences is an essential part of the process that will shape your plan and set it up for success. Partner with key leadership and company stakeholders as needed to gain their insights and identify which audiences are the most important to reach.
Choose your tactics and channels
Next, you will need to determine your tactics and which channels you will use to communicate to your target audiences. Figure out the most effective tactics to reach your audiences and which channels they engage with most. There are many effective ways to get your message out there – including social media and conferences – so take the time to consider all possibilities, even those tactics/channels your company may have traditionally stayed away from in the past. It’s a new year, and the perfect time to shake things up a bit!
Establish how your plan will be measured
As you are developing your plan, think about how you will measure it and what success will look like. How will you communicate and present the results of your marketing and comms plan’s measurement to senior leadership? Every effective strategic plan has a method in place to determine its success, so choose your metrics wisely.
If you’re hoping to make a big splash in 2023, the time to start planning is now. Keep in mind that many events and marketing initiatives have long lead times, which means you don’t want to waitto start developing content and planningif your organization has time sensitive goals. However, by developing and finalizing a strategic marketing and communications plan now, you’ll be ahead of the game and your business will be better positioned for successthis year and beyond!
Interested in building your marketing and communications strategy? We would love to connect and share how we can help. Book a meeting with us here for a free consultation.
The Distinctive Edge team is comprised of business builders with unique communications expertise and industry specialization. We help leaders solve business problems, thrive through transition, and achieve growth and engagement goals. The tools of our trade are strategic storytelling, investor and public relations, communications, and marketing. To learn more about our services, visit https://distinctiveedge.partners or book a free 30-minute consultation here.