We’re halfway through December and you might feel like every other business owner has already nailed their marketing strategy for 2026. Well, that’s not necessarily the case! There are plenty of people out there; start-ups and growing businesses that haven’t spent days on end planning. That’s why I’m sharing this simple marketing strategy – to help you hit the ground running in January.
Set your goals
You need to know what you’re aiming for, and in what timeframe. This is how you measure the success of any marketing campaign.
Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timebound if you want to be ‘smart’.
Know your ideal customer
Has your customer evolved? Think about your most successful period in sales and relationship development with your customers. They could give you the blueprint to your ideal customer avatar. Define them in writing by noting their demographics: age, location, occupation, and anything else you think might be relevant. Then add their values, pains, problems, fears, wants, needs or desires.
Clarify your message
The easiest way to encourage someone to lean in with interest is to align with their values. Are your digital platforms conveying that alignment? Are you managing your platforms successfully? One mistake I often see is a business that thinks they need to be on every platform all the time – only take on what you can realistically handle and consider expanding with either delegation or external support.
And remember what Seth Godin says, ‘Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make, but about the stories you tell’.
Identify the best communication methods
Using your customer avatar, can you figure out how they prefer to consume information? Which digital platforms are they on, what printed material do they respond to? Perhaps a flyer campaign would work best, or maybe a pay-per-click digital campaign. Do you have any numbers from previous campaigns over the years you can reflect on?
Plan your high pay-off activities
High pay-off activities are those that result in the greatest return on your investment. Your investment may not just be financial; your time holds a value of its own too.
Choose activities that:
- You know work
- You’re already good at
- Don’t distract you from your ultimate goal
- You genuinely enjoy doing.
And then make sure you put time in your calendar for executing those activities without distraction: Switch you emails to ‘out of office’, turn the phone off, close the office door…
A sidenote on high pay-off activities: There may be one that you haven’t undertaken yet because despite being very interested in it, you lack the knowledge or skill to execute it. It might be worth considering when you can fit the training in, if you really want to do it yourself, it could become the next best thing in your processes…
If you don’t have the time or knowledge or would rather be spending such time in a more valuable way (other high pay-off activities) then look to delegate (internal) or outsource (external) your marketing.
Design a measuring and reporting dashboard
How will you know your strategy is working? Which key performance indicators will define success? Create a way to measure these numbers and compare them with previous months and/or campaigns to identify the highest performing tactics.
Take time to celebrate success
One of the key activities you can undertake in marketing is to enjoy it’s success, particularly if others in your business have contributed to it. So, after reviewing the numbers, plan the opportunity to stop and recognise the people who have made a positive impact on your campaign – even if it was ‘only you’.
This simple marketing strategy should help you build traction and pull prospects towards you. And if you need a sounding board to sense-check your plan, I’m here for you.