WOW! 2019 has just galloped by in a mad rush to its bitter end!
Thanksgiving came so late this year it had the effect of compressing the holiday season. And suddenly, the New Year is upon us.
And you know what that means, right?
Goals. Goals! GOALS!
Yup, ’tis the season for…
Every Tom, Dick + Henrietta (which is my Mom’s middle name, but ssssssshhh, don’t tell anyone — she absolutely HATES it!) in the biz advice game is rolling out their “Business Goals For 2020” spectaculars.
Which is fine, except…

The Problem With Goal-Setting

Now, I’ve blabbed a TON on this blog about my disdain for goal-setting. Mostly because it doesn’t work…
The majority of the grand goals folks outline in their well-meaning New Year’s resolutions wind up completely forgotten about by January 15th.
And, according to a big buoyant bevy of statistics, even the more realistic goals fall off our radar all too quickly. Thus, we find ourselves at year-end having completely failed to acheive the well-intend goals we outline for ourselves 12 months prior.
There are LOADS of reasons why. But generally, it chalks up to life. That endless slog that never relents.
One of the hardest lessons I’ve had to learn personally, is, in the real world, there are no corners. As in: “When I get blankety-blank task off my plate, I’ll be free to take on project xyz.”
Except, in between finishing up blankety-blank task and taking on to project xyz, 10 (or maybe even 100) other blankety-blanks come tasks get in the way.
And that corner you hoping to round? Well, you never quite make. Never, ever that is.
The solution to this never round the corner stumbling block?

Aim For Benchmarks, Not Goals…

The difficulty with goal-setting is why I favor Benchmarking.
Again, I’ve pontificated on this topic in posts gone by. But for a quick refresher… Benchmarks are specific milestones you set for your business.
For example…

• By the end of Q1 2020, you intend to identify 20 new prospects.
• By the midway point, you intend to convert at least half of those prospects into paying customers.
• And by year-end, you intend to increase revenue by at least 10% (thanks to the 10 new clients you converted).

But Here’s The Thing About Benchmarks…

Just like goals, it can be tough to say on top of reaching your benchmarks.
And when it comes to marketing, there are likely underlying reasons you’re stuggling to acheive your intended benchmarks…
The culprit? Your marketing efforts are falling short.
The remedy?
It’s two-fold.
First up, it’s time for an audit. In other words, evaluate your current efforts, and make improve where necessary.
Secondly, get busy launching the new tactics you’ve been “considering,” but have yet to implement.
Let’s take a closer look at these two folds…

First up… The (Make Money) Marketing Audit

Your Website
(Don’t have a website? Refer to Time to Get Tactical below…)
Have you taken a gander at your website lately? If not, there’s no time like the present!
And what are you looking for?

• Is the look and feel of your website inviting? Engaging visuals are often the key to getting prospects to actually read your content. If your visual elements are tired or boring, it’s time to consider an update.
• Does your messaging reflect the current state of your business? The focus of your business and the services you provide, in addition to your approach to marketing those services, is always evolving. If your messaging doesn’t reflect this, your content is not going to attract or convert your ideal prospects.
• Are all the links on your site routing to the correct pages? As your site is revised and rejiggered and redesigned over time, internal links often wind up incorrectly routed. They may be directed to old or out-of-date pages, or directed to deleted pages, which generates 404 (page not found) errors. And this can leave prospects confused, put off, and unlikely to hire you.

Your Blog
(Not blogging for your business? Refer to Time to Get Tactical below…)

•  Are you consistently publishing new blog posts? Aiming to post at least once a week, on roughly the same day and time is critical to the efficacy of your blog. Blogging is… An important part of maintaining your website’s SEO, key to establishing and maintaining your voice as an industry expert, and an invaluable lead nurturing + existing client contact tool. And believe you me, I realize what tough row to hoe this task can be. I’ve certianly fallen off in this department in 2019. But I’m committed to getting back on the weekly publishing track in 2020.

Your Email Marketing Campaigns
(Not using email to market your business? Refer to Time to Get Tactical below…)

• Are you consistently broadcasting email campaigns? Judicious use of email marketing is certainly prudent (no wants your spammy emails flooding their inbox). But email marketing doesn’t work if you don’t actually use it. If a regular broadcast isn’t on your schedule, its time to rectify that shortfall.
• Are you measuring your email marketing efforts and adjusting your campaigns accordingly? While putting regular email broadcasts on your schedule is important, adopting a “set it and forget it” approach is a mistake. Reviewing your campaigns and monitoring open rates, replies, and other feedback tells you what’s working, and what falling short. And provides the insights necessary to make future campaigns more effective.

Your Social Media Marketing Efforts
(Not using social media to promote your business? Refer to Time to Get Tactical below…)

• Is the look and feel of your social pages inviting? Just like with your website, engaging header images, along with pix and other visuals posted in your social updates are often the key to getting prospects to actually read those updates. If your visual elements are dull and uninspired, it’s time to rethink your approach.
• Does your messaging reflect the current state of your business? Just as with your website, the messaging on your social pages should be revised as needed to reflect the evolving nature of your business and the services you provide.
• Do you have an email signup form on your social pages? Capturing email contacts is a great lead nurturing tool. Facebook allows you to add an email signup form directly to your business page. And it’s possible to include a link to an email signup form on your LinkedIn business profile page. You can include a similar link in your Twitter bio or post it as Pinned Tweet at the top of your Twitter business page.

Your Print Media Marketing
(Not using print media to market your business? Refer to Time to Get Tactical below…)

• Is your brochure up-to-date? Brochures aren’t used as much these days, but they can still be critical pieces of marketing media. They’re a great takeaways from client meetings or to include with sales letters. And they can even be emailed as PDF attachments with prospecting emails. But given that brochures are used less frequently can mean they fall out-of-date without you realizing it. Just as with your website and social pages, it’s important to make sure your business reflects the current state of your business and the services you provide.

Your Other Marketing Efforts

• What else are you doing to market your business? Are those efforts paying off? If not, can the be adjusted or revamped to achieve better results? And if they can’t, is it time to consider letting them go and moving on to other tactics?

Now that we’ve covered the top half of this “two-fold” process, let’s move on the bottom half…

Time to Get Tactical

This is where we look at the marketing tactics you should consider adding to your marketing mix.

• Don’t have a website? Really? I mean, REALLY??? Come on now, it’s 2020!? Your website is the hub of your business marketing efforts. It’s how you get found, explain your services and the value they provide, and move prospects further down your sales funnel on the path to becoming paying customers. Not to mention, a website is a prospecting tool that literally NEVER sleeps.
• Not using email marketing to nurture leads and stay in contact with current clients? Well then, you’re MISSING OUT! According to multiple studies by a variety of organizations, email marketing generates an average rate of 40 to 1 return on investment. That means every $1 you invest in email marketing generates an average of $40 in revenue.
• Not using social media to promote your business? After Google (and other search engines, but let’s be honest, it’s mostly Google), what’s the most likely source of inbound referrals? Yup — social media. It’s the modern-day watercooler, community meeting, coffee klatch, and all purpose hangout. And if your business is represented there, you’re prospects are that much more likely to find you.
• Are there other marketing tactics you should consider? If you’ve yet to delve into relevant tactics others than those mentioned above, it’s time to consider employing them to promote your business.

Stay Tuned! There’s More to Come…

Obviously, there is just a cursory overview. We could explore these tactics with lots more depth…
And that’s EXACTLY what I’ve got planned for the coming year! So keep a sharp eye PEELED ;—)

In the meantime…

What are your business goals in 2020? Drop by my LinkedIn page and share your intentions for the coming year.