Go ahead and open your last version of your Marketing Plan. Can’t believe how fast time flies by. It feels like just the other day where many of you were making all sorts of plans to change things, then the new year kicked in, and then you got busy so the plans went under the to-do pile.

Break the mold and stop waiting for end of year holidays to plan for the new year. Waiting to the end of year is terrible, since even if you plan on really doing something, most of the supporting resources are so busy that you just get rushed along. Then vacations set in, etc.

Want better customers next year? Then start planning for them “yesterday”. It will take some time to methodically organize yourself to market correctly. That begins with a Marketing Plan or an update to your existing Marketing Plan. And many do not want to embrace this fact, but it will take months for these efforts to all come together after you are done. This includes making the correct updates to your website, Facebook and YouTube for Social Sharing, Google Reviews, etc. So start today, then take a few months to organize yourself slowly, and then start to reap the rewards sometime in Q1 with momentum picking up around Q2. It is amazing how one’s business can change for life once you actually do something about it.

Don’t use the excuse you are busy and waiting for things to slow down. Guess what? That is the same thing the majority of your peers are saying. Ever wonder what the top companies do different than you to be overly successful? Much of it is not magic. Much of it is business practices and continuity with no excuses.

UPDATED AS OF MAY 2018: US economy just hit a milestone, are your maximizing the opportunities?

We are now tied for the second-longest economic expansion in American history. Unemployment just fell below 4% since 2000. Economists don’t see a recession on the near horizon, possibly keeping this same pace through 2019. So somewhere in 2019 to 2020 we will have to hit an eventual peak with the first hints of a contraction. Since marketing takes time to make an impact, wouldn’t it be wise for you to take a moment to look at how you are attracting better customers, and to be one step ahead of everyone else who will probably put the brakes on marketing once they see the industry take a pause?

If you are not doing something now, in the face of the best growth in history, then you can bet you will be at a disadvantage when things eventually slow down. Made me think of this post I did last year titled “If not now, when?”.

Right now is the perfect time to review your Marketing Plan & Strategy to ensure you are positioning for 2019-2020 so you will be getting better leads now and well into the future.

I hear all the time “you do not know how lucky you are to get so many leads”. And I respond the same way, “No, luck has nothing to do with it.” It took planning, execution and persistence to build the momentum of image and results we produce. In fact, that is why I like to focus on the words More Quality Leads as opposed to just saying More Leads. I used to get too many leads that it was actually a distraction. Now our business has vastly reduced the time dealing with tire kickers which gives us more time to focus on good customers and quality leads. These quality leads turn into quality customers who in turn give us some quality referrals. And the merry go round spins. Sure, bad leads continue to come, but at a much slower pace and they are easy to let go.

Perhaps you are doing great with your marketing and leads. That is great. Then at least make sure to not rest on your laurels and keep it up. But maybe you are wondering why are you so busy and not making as much profit as you thought. Or maybe you are getting leads and not closing as many as you thought. Or perhaps you really do not get as much referral business as you hoped for with your existing clients. You can change so much by identifying a problem and planning to change it.

And finally, remember that marketing is different than sales  and should be treated as distinct topics.

Our network is vast so feel free to contact us via the MyOnlineToolbox website for particular help. We are sure we can help connect you with someone who specializes in your area of operational concern. Most important is to plan to do something and ask for help from people who have been-there-done-that. Next year can be so much different if you have a road map to change the direction. Your planning for next year should have started yesterday.