Would you like to make 2015 the best year ever for your company? It won’t happen by accident. It takes purposeful planning to accomplish what’s important.
Today, I’m sharing suggestions based a technique that I keep running across it in different venues. A brief internet search shows no conclusive source, but if you know where it came from, please let me know. I’m going to send somebody a thank you note because this is awesome. I only know the basics of the process which are found in steps three and four, so I’ve embellished a bit to make this process doable for everyone who reads this.
Get ready because we are about to make 2015 rock like Elvis.
STEP ONE – make an exhaustive list of every marketing activity in which your company engages. Gather the troops via email or in your virtual office or in your bricks and mortar building and work together to create an exhaustive list. Remember not only paid advertising but anything you do that promotes your company or brand.
STEP TWO – let it sit. Review the list in a couple of days. Run it buy the group. Add anything you may have missed.
STEP THREE – Host a sorting session via virtual or actual office. Here are your categories in which marketing activity should go:
3a. What’s right? What’s working well?
3b. What’s wrong? What’s broken and not serving our staff or customers?
3c. What’s missing? What should we be doing in marketing that we are not?
3d. What’s confusing? What are we doing that is unclear in our message?
STEP FOUR – Once your lists are made, have four conversations:
4a. How can we amplify what’s right? Talk through each item and list out potential improvements.
4b. How can we change what’s wrong? Examine each item and decide how to correct.
4c. How can we add what is missing? Discuss missing items and identify how to add
4d. Refine the murky items for clarity.
STEP FIVE – Take your four lists and create actions items. Each action item should include:
5a. Action Step – What needs to be done?
5b. Responsible Party – Who is responsible to make sure it gets done?
5c. Due Date – When is it expected to be done?
5d. Support Source – Where will the responsible party turn for help?
If you tackle one of these steps and sub-steps at your weekly staff meetings in the first quarter of 2015, by the start of 2nd quarter, you will have an amazing action plan for marketing that will transform your company or organization for the better.
Follow up at each subsequent staff meeting, by checking in on each action item according to due date. Answers should be: on target, need support or “Boom! Done!” Gino Wickman does a great job of talking about this in his highly-recommended-by-us book “Traction.”
This week, do one thing: send out STEP ONE to your staff and begin to gather the data you need to make 2015 your best marketing year ever!
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