The 4 Marketing Objectives You NEED To Tackle In Q4

Can you believe we’re already in Q4?! Time is moving at warp speed. Before we know it, it’ll be 2014 and everything starts over.

Do yourself one, BIG favor and prepare yourself for 2014 with these important marketing initiatives.

What You MUST Do Before December 31st:

Personal Development

For me, personal development always comes first. I can’t make B Squared the best it can be without first being the best I can be. Whether you work for yourself or someone else, it never hurts to set achievable milestones!

Here are some of my personal goals for 2014:

• Eat healthy
• Lose 10 pounds
• Get a raise
• Save X amount of dollars per month
• Find our dream house
• Get better at G+

Professional Development

Here are some of my personal goals for 2014:

• Get better at G+ (this is both a personal and professional goal for me)
• Create/strategize a video course for B Squared
• Read one marketing/social media book each month
• Close 3 “done for you” accounts
• Give one webinar a quarter
• Create more downloadable content

Create Your 2014 Marketing Plan

Make sure to include these things with your overarching strategy:

• Do a new SWOT – trust me, things CHANGE!
• Revisit your mission statement – is it still in line with what you do and who you are?
• What are your goals and objectives for 2014 (break down quarterly)?
• Are you releasing any new products or services? How will you segment those? How will you sell those?
• Sales forecasting:
  • Clean up 2013’s pipeline. Close leads that didn’t go through and update/follow up with pending leads.
  • Look at planned vs. actual for 2013 to best gauge realistic results for 2014
  • Make sure salespeople know and understand their responsibilities for 2014 – and have a long talk about why 2013 went well/did not go well
• Set your budget:
  • Looked at planned vs. actual for 2013 to set realistic goals for 2014
  • Create a living document for sales tactics for old and new products and services

Identify Assets

• Looking back at the goals set above (personal, professional, and marketing plan) who or what can you leverage to help your business meet those goals?
• What areas are missing assets (this could be content, industry partners, knowledge and know-how, etc.)? Come up with a plan for filling these holes.
• What tools are you current using? Do they get the job done? What needs upgrading and what needs to be tossed?
• Team members are assets, too. Do you have enough support? Are you lacking in an area? In what ways can you fill voids (and keep with your budget)?

Specific & SMART

Remember, when planning (and in sales!) specific is better and VERY specific is best. The more clear-cut your action plan is, the more precise your picture of 2014 will be.

And, we always stick to SMART goals:

Have you started preparing for 2014? What objectives did I leave out that you feel MUST be addressed in Q4? Let me know in the comments section below!

See you in the social sphere!

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Brooke B. Sellas

Brooke B. Sellas is the in-the-trenches Founder & CEO of @HelloBSquared, an award-winning social media, advertising, and social media customer care agency. She's also the author of Conversations That Connect -- a book all about social listening and social media customer care. Brooke's marketing mantra is “Think Conversation, Not Campaign” so be sure to give her a shout on the socials!

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