Prioritizing your small business marketing

It’s that time of year when business owners and marketing teams are looking ahead to 2013, thinking about goals for the new year. It can be overwhelming to sort out all of our ideas and make things happen.

The number one thing I get asked in client meetings is, “how do you keep up with it all?” Many times, the clients ask that question as it relates to social media or online marketing tactics. And, in truth, it can be overwhelming. The secret? You don’t have to do it all at once.

For example, there is probably a list a mile long of the things you’d like to do as it relates to marketing your business. Before you put them all on the same list with the same amount of priority, think about the two or three goals that are really pertinent to the success of your business next year. Start there and work your way through your goals until you have them sorted by priority level.

Using your business goals, your revenue goals or your goals for creating brand awareness, go ahead and sort those ideas into a chart with the following labels: High Priority, Medium Priority, Low Priority. See my example below:

High Priority	Medium Priority	Low Priority
Business goal: Increase sales by 25% Online lead generation increase by 15%	Business goal: Generate 25 sales leads from search results Gain additional name recognition through online mentions and national media outlets	Business goal: Expand the company to include 1 additional full-time employee and 2 part-time employees Physical company office expansion; would like an additional 1,200 sq. ft. of space
Marketing tactic: Utilize key words and negative key words lists for SEO	Marketing tactic: Learn about Google AdWords Implement routine social media posts and consistent content calendars	Marketing tactic: Utilize social media as a recruitment tool Develop content that speaks to our company as an employer, our culture, etc.

As you are filling out the chart, be sure to have measurements included in each goal. You’ll see, in the example, that there are percentages in place as it talks about company growth or sales increases.

On that same list, you’ll also want to include your marketing tactics–how are you going to achieve each of those business goals? So many times, we get excited about marketing ideas and tactics that we forget the end goal. By setting your business goal for the new year first, you’ll be better equipped to come up with the marketing tactic that supports it. Instead of: We want to increase our Twitter followers by 50%, think about your business as a whole. Is your goal sales-oriented or brand recognition-based? Maybe it’s both. Whatever the goal is, your marketing tactics should be a separate item that supports the initiative rather than starts it.

This is just one small example of how to get started on your business marketing goals for next year. What other challenges have you come across as it relates to your marketing efforts? Are you a regular goal setter or do you fly by the seat of our pants? Tell us in the comments below!