If you’re anything like us, you’re back from summer break, feeling refreshed and ready to kick back into that long to-do list you left on your desk before Christmas.
But before you get sucked back into the day to day, this is your friendly reminder to check in on that marketing plan that’s probably sitting deep within your ‘2021/22 Planning’ folder.
We know that it’s probably the last thing you want to add to your rapidly growing to do list that makes Christmas feel like a lifetime ago. But now is the perfect time to check in and make sure everything is on track for the final sprint of the financial year and as you begin to develop your plan for 2022/23.
To keep things simple, we’ve outlined five steps you can take to get your head back in the game and set yourself up for next year’s planning.
Step 1: Review your plan
This is the bare minimum. Before you get into the final few months of the financial year, take some time to read through your plan and ask yourself the following questions:
Answering these questions will help you reaffirm your thinking, find ways to realign your action plan or solve problems you’re currently facing.
Step 2: Start your end of year report
Whether you’re working to a year end in March or June, you’ll be doing future you a favour if you start collating your end of year report now. Not only does this give you an opportunity to reflect on all that you’ve accomplished so far, it also allows you to look holistically at your results and understand exactly where the actions are needed to meet your objectives.
Step 3: Conduct research
Missing out on your summer afternoon reading time now that you’re back in the office? Ease yourself back in by swapping out your novel with some industry research.
Take advantage of the amount of 2022 trend predictions and 2021 research papers that become available at the start of the year. Read up on industry research and trends, such as NZ Courier’s eCommerce report, Adobe’s 2022 Digital Trends and Hubspot & Talkwalker’s 2022 Social Media Trend report.
Step 4: Chat with your team and customers
It’s so simple, yet often overlooked. Take advantage of your team’s refreshed brains and reflect together on what you’ve achieved so far. Grab a coffee and take time to understand what they think is working, what isn’t and where they’re spending their time. You’ll soon spot issues with the plan or ideas to build on in the following year.
If you can, do the same with customers. If you’re lucky to have direct access to your customers, this might be a face-to-face conversation. Otherwise, a simple survey or review of sales data and online reviews can do the trick.
Take the time to widen your understanding of what’s happening and what’s needed to assess against your plan. The information gathered will tell you whether you can continue on as is or need to change it up.
Step 5: Talk to your agencies
Now is also a good time to check in with the agencies you’re working with. If they’re helping you action things in your plan or have in the last year, it’s a good idea to get their take on how things are going and what else could be done. Even if you can’t act on the ideas this year, it can help shape future plans.
Or if you’ve had a look at your plan, reviewed what’s happening in the industry and collected the data only to realise there’s a lot left to do to achieve your 2021/22 goals, it might be time to outsource some things.
Even if you don’t have the solution, set up a meeting with your agency/agencies to discuss where the problems are and where you need to get too. Not only will they help to shape your plan of attack moving forward, you can also utilise their extended resources to achieve your objectives within your deadline.
Whether you review your plan every two months or have completely forgotten you’d done one, these tips will help you get back into the swing of planning without it becoming a mammoth task. By revisiting your marketing plan now, you’ll set yourself up well to take on next year’s planning.
Get in touch today.
