Are your eyes much bigger than your wallet, or your ability to focus and execute effective marketing in 2010?
Has your New Year’s Resolutions come and gone already? How can you ensure you’re not biting off more than you can chew with your aspirations and actions?
Here are four tips that you can apply to a fresh, doable mini plan in 2010!
Be Realistic: The list of what could or should be done is always long. As much as you want to do it all, be realistic about what can get done today, and in the near future. Make sure you have your plan on paper, and do not over plan. Be realistic as well about the resources you have to get things done.
Be Measurable: For everything you commit to do, make sure you know how to measure the outcome of your efforts. The closer you can measure success back to revenue, the better. I know that is harder said than done, just make sure your not shooting so high that it is not measurable. Still, if you’re going to choose something on your short list of focus areas, make sure you know how to measure success, and make sure your team knows what that the goal is from the beginning.
Be Diligent: Many efforts fade away because there’s little discipline in you to keep the ideas on task, and keeping them moving. Schedule regular check-ins, at least with yourself, to gauge progress and next steps on every commitment you’ve made. Keep yourself accountable at all times for outcomes and performances.
Be Flexible: Everything chances, you have to be flexible enough to change with it. That goes for your marketing plan as well. If you hit roadblocks along the way, be flexible and creative to find new ways to still meet your business goals. The more flexible you are, the more likely you are to find and stick to alternative paths to success. Alternate paths are the most likely paths most business end up going down; we always plan for the best, but sometimes accept the unexpected…..
