The new year is already underway, and the first quarter is often the most important for businesses. After developing a plan at the end of Q4, the first few months of the year are all about refining those processes and setting yourself up for success as the year goes on.
For marketers, a solid Q1 plan can serve as a roadmap for their brands, keeping them on track as they navigate trending topics and changing customer tastes.
Here are the 15 of most notable things they had to say:
1. Review and agree on your content marketing strategy with the team.
Review any documentation you have of your content marketing strategy, or create a new one, and ensure these things: First, make sure your content strategy includes tried-and-true techniques that have proven successful for your brand. Second, your strategy must include up-to-date techniques involving current channels and media. Finally, make sure you have specific, achievable and measurable KPIs.
2. Ask your customers what they want.
As a marketer, I believe we always need to keep our customers top of mind and listen to their feedback (via phone, email or survey) to ensure their voices are heard and your brand truly portrays what you believe it does to the end user. Net promoter scores help extensively, too. The customer can tell you quite a bit about your brand if you are willing to listen, which can help you for the future.
3. Gather data to learn from the past.
The best way to move forward is by looking in your rear-view mirror. Gather all of your data, from purchases to click path. Then clear your meeting schedule to dig deep and look for spikes, dips and other anomalies. The answers you need to avoid pitfalls (or potholes) in the coming year can be found from the path you have already travelled.
4. Prioritize personalization.
Using personal research and your creative matrix, execute on the promise of personalization. Consumers expect real-time relevance in their digital experiences.
5. Create memorable experiences.
As marketers, it’s easy to lose focus on the needs of our consumers. Keep in mind the sheer pace of the world and how much information is thrown at everyone. Take a moment to connect with your customers – create a memorable moment that taps into why they love you. Build a relationship.
6. Create a content calendar.
Creating a content calendar for the year can be incredibly helpful in examining your brand strategy and reevaluating your ideal customer profile and target verticals. Once established, creating a calendar for when you publish and execute on content campaigns and on which respective platform sets your marketing and growth teams up for success.
7. Review your attribution model and plan resources accordingly.
Having good clean data can make or break your marketing effectiveness. Looking for trends in your data that may uncover tracking opportunities and attribution errors will help you know what can be improved. Maybe you need to calibrate or improve your attribution model. Planning your resources accordingly at the beginning of the year will ensure you don’t miss opportunities for improvement.
8. Take advantage of machine learning.
The very nature of marketing is changing with significant advances in attribution and data science. Be prepared to use machine learning to drive a dynamic content, real-time targeting and personalization. For instance, the tracking of digital shopping behaviour can be used to craft personalized messaging down to a segment of one, allowing marketers to deploy ads that are uniquely focused.
9. Develop a one-page strategic plan.
What is not measured cannot be improved. The marketing team should be aligned with sales, customer success and overall company objectives to track toward agreed upon KPIs, quarterly priority projects and metrics aligned across the organization. At the end of each quarter, an analysis should be driven by the team to understand the next course of action and how to amplify results.
10. Trust and empower your team.
It all starts with the internal team. To create an effective marketing plan, you need an effective marketing team. Laying the right foundation of trust and alignment through strong internal communication and empowering employees (sales, advertising, etc.) to do their best work by providing clear objectives and understanding gives them the framework to achieve measurable goals for the brand.
11. Stream video content across multiple platforms.
Videos should be various lengths to accommodate social media platforms and audiences. The video should be used in all forms of communication, from presentations, website and social media channels. Studies show that people who consume content with video treatment retain that content to a higher degree, and it addresses different learning styles of content consumers, like auditory, reading and visual.
12. Incorporate influencer marketing.
Think about how influencer marketing can be leveraged to uplift your existing marketing plans. Your campaign may have significant reach, but with the help of a single influencer, it can drastically improve. Influencers should be leveraged not only for social and brand but also for acquisition. For many, influencer marketing is the new and more efficient media buy and marketing spend.
13. Set a stretch goal.
Have a stretch goal for a marketing tactic, such as sponsoring a big event that you think is a fit for your brand, partnering with the talent you think is a good fit but out of budget or launching a great retail program. Work toward making the marketing work so strongly in Q1 that sales will be stronger than expected and you can then have the budget for that marketing tactic.
14. Know your current brand perceptions.
Quantitive brand research is necessary to align your marketing strategy, marketing spends and product strategy. You must understand your brand strengths and weaknesses and provide benchmarks for comparison. Insights from the research will inform your actions to impact your brand positioning and messaging at both the company and product level, across all customer touch points.
15. Identify and align goals with your creative vision.
Take a step back to identify your creative vision and how it can support the company’s broader business goals. Once you’ve identified 2018 goals with your leadership team, choose key metrics to keep your eye on. Work backwards from goals each quarter to set strategy and tactics, scheduling check-ins with your team and taking time to measure progress – and adjust as needed.
