Trim the Fat From Your Marketing Plan, and 4 More Resolutions for 2015

Did you ever notice how New Year’s resolutions start to sound like a broken record, year after year? The same promises, the same commitment out of the gate… the same reasons for abandoning them a few months later.

This year, I wanted to put a spin on those tried-and-true resolutions to give you a list of marketing goals you can set — and stick to.

Lose weight.

Cut the fat from your marketing program by examining your return on investment (ROI) for each area of it. Is your email marketing working best? Does your blog need improvement? If you’re not sure how to tell, take a step back and resolve to start tracking metrics with marketing automation and other analytic software.

Less TV.

Not watching less TV, in this case, but modeling your marketing less like TV. Television ads are the epitome of the old, interruptive style — you’re watching your program, getting involved — and boom! — concentration and enjoyment broken by a bunch of ads that may not even apply to you. Don’t practice interruptive marketing. Communicate with your audience on their terms, by providing the kind of information they’re looking for, when they’re looking for it. Social media and a comprehensive, informative website are good ways to start.

Exercise more.

“Beef up” the useful content on your website to provide a source of value to your target audience. The more content you have, the more likely you are to become a trusted information provider – creating connections with prospects at all stages of the buying cycle. Blogs, how-to guides, troubleshooting sections, extensive product and service information – all of these can serve as the basis of a more robust content plan.

Learn a new language.

That “outbound,” interruptive marketing style I mentioned earlier? There’s an alternative. It’s called “inbound marketing,” and while it flips everything you thought you knew about marketing on its ear, it’s worth the effort. Learn the language of inbound, and establish stronger connections with buyers and prospects by catering your content to their needs.

Travel somewhere new.

Try out a marketing tactic you’ve been resistant to adopting, or seek out something completely new. Feel confident that you’ve got all your marketing bases covered? Double down on your most successful effort, or focus on picking up the slack with what’s been lagging behind. The point is to not remain stagnant or stationary with your marketing plan — there are always new places you can take it.

The New Year is always a good time for a fresh start. These resolutions can help you take a closer look at your marketing plan to get a clean beginning to 2015, learning from what’s working, fixing what’s not, and keeping an open mind about the best ways to reach your target prospects.