Thinking about how to plan your 2023 marketing strategy? The good news is thinking about your marketing now will set you up for success in the coming year, but we know it can be time-consuming and overwhelming for many small businesses. Today, we’re going to share some of our top tips and best practices so you can go into 2023 feeling confident about your marketing plan.
How to Plan Your 2023 Marketing Strategy
1. Plan in advance
We know, that’s what you’re trying to do now, but we mean you need to be specific.It’s all too common to create an overarching plan in the early months of the year, only to never look at it again or just use it as a vague guide.
Make sure you get specific about your plans. If you’re going to run a huge BlackFriday sale, start putting concrete plans in place 1-6 months beforehand. Even small sales should be planned a month ahead so you’ve got time to create assets, streamline processes, and get your audience excited about it.
2. Have a clear brand
Your marketing has to stand on the foundation of your brand, and we’re not just talking about the colors of your logo here. Your fonts, colors, tone of voice, and more need to be aligned and consistent in all your marketing efforts. (Learn more about what branding you need here.)
If your branding isn’t cohesive, prospective customers will get the impression that you don’t know what you’re doing, or you may even end up turning off your ideal customer. Review your branding now and consider if you need to do a brand overhaul before 2023 starts in earnest. (If you need help defining your branding, we can help.)
3. Set SMART goals
Set goals for your marketing and make them SMART-that’s Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. When you’re setting goals for the year ahead, for the quarter, or for a single campaign, make sure your goals meet these criteria. For example, instead of “increase sales”, your goal should look more like,“increase sales by 10% in Q1 and Q2 of 2023.
4. Set a budget
Do you set a clear budget for marketing campaigns and advertising? It’s all too easy for small businesses to tweak their budget up or down depending on how the business’s finances are doing, but to determine if a marketing campaign is really working, you need to be consistent. Stick to your budget unless you have a really good reason not to (such as you realize you set the budget too low or an ad is working well and you want to try scaling it up).
5. Delegate
Whether you’re the only team member or you’ve got a team of 100, there’s no reason any one person should be doing all the work. If you’re doing all the marketing, make sure you’re not becoming overwhelmed and starting to drop some of the balls you’re juggling. Outsourcing is a great way to get small jobs done without the expense of a full-time hire.
January is a great time to reassess where you are so you can move forward with confidence. Whether your brand needs some work, your website needs an overhaul, or you need some support with your marketing, Pixel Parfait is here to help. To find out more or to contact us for a free consultation, click here.
