1. Reflect on the year. Look back over the goals and strategy you set for 2014 before you do the same for 2015. Did you set the five resolutions we recommended around this time last year?What worked for you this year and what didn’t? If you haven’t already done so, identify your target audience so that you can better allocate your budget to the mediums where they hang out.
2. Review your strategy. Go over our checklist of branding questions to evaluate that state of your marketing strategy and start to map out your calendar for the year.
3. Reevaluate resources. Prior to determining budgets, you’ll want to look at each marketing opportunity on the horizon and consider your internal resources and capabilities to execute against these projects. This will help you more accurately determine project budgets.
4. Reassess your budget. Many business owners are unsure what they should spend, and what they can afford to spend, in order to market their products or services to the clients they need. Although it may be tempting to only utilize “free” social media networks to spread the word about your business, we offer these recommendations to determine what percentage of your revenue you should allocate to your marketing budget.
5. Reduce. Decrease the number of marketing initiatives you plan to undertake and focus on quality instead of quantity. This will ensure the maximum number of marketing dollars you can devote to each medium. Yes, successful marketing comes from great concept and design work, implemented consistently and energetically across a variety of media channels. But you need the funds and bandwidth to maintain each of those channels, so prioritize accordingly.
6. Renew. Some marketing priorities change from year to year, but your dedication to connecting with your audience stays the same. Renew your commitment to that audience by focusing on key components such as website redesign, paid media, software and support as Bridget Flanagan outlines in her post on Business2Community.com.

For details on how we can set you up for marketing success in 2015 no matter what your budget, please contact us via our website, Facebook or email.