Planning your marketing is not necessarily difficult... but marketing without a plan certainly is!

You'll find yourself doing what I call "knee-jerk reaction marketing" where you are scrambling to "do SOMETHING" either because business is slow, times are lean, the phone's not ringing or a seasonal opportunity or event is fast approaching.

Start TODAY by thinking...
What strategies are right for my business?
Which will I implement this year?

ACTION STEPS:
1. Make a list of strategies
2. Prioritize based on projected return
3. Decide how often you will do the campaign
4. Estimate costs to implement the top 3 strategies
5. Calendar your implementation dates
6. Choose and write down the focus and call to action for each implementation... NOW.
(Don't wait until it's time to implement to try to come up with something! You can always edit... it's the first concept that takes the most time!)

Once you have your strategies selected, budgeted and calendared, one of my secrets to actually DOING the campaign is to put the implementation date in my electronic calendar (I use Outlook) and set a reminder for 2 weeks prior. Then when the reminder pops up... I know I have 2 weeks to get it done.

Speaking of calendars... did you get your Marketing Matters calendar for 2010? No? Complete this quick form and we'll send you one at no cost!

And if you'd like me to help you choose the right strategies and/or help you create your plan, email me or fill out this online form.

Talk to you soon!