June has just expired.
You know what the means, right? The year’s half over.
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?
How is that possible? Has that much time has already flown by? No one is more shocked than me.
But alas it has. This milestone’s passing, however, provides the perfect opportunity. Time for some mid-year reflection.
And the chief indicator in this analysis: How much progress have you made with you 2015 marketing goals?
Except, in my current philosophy, goals are for the birds… As you may, or may not, remember, I kicked off 2015 with a newsletter advising you to take a different track this year. Instead of setting marketing goals, focus on developing marketing habits.
You could click here for a quick review… Or we can just go through the highlights right now.
Are you game? Sweet! Here we go…
The Problem With Goals (Marketing Overwhelm)
Goals often become a series of monolithic tasks. And cast in that light, most would rather avoid them. (Regardless of how important they may be to your business.)
You’re already so busy managing your business. Who has time for one more thing? Or several things? As in the annual business goals you set for yourself? These goals become one more stress. Nudging their way into your already overcrowded to-do list.
But you need to get things done, right? To grow your business? To register progress? These goals, market projects you want to accomplish are intended to build your business. They have value.
So what’s the solution?
Develop The Marketing Habit
Instead of setting a bunch of arbitrary goals, you may or may not be able to achieve, schedule a daily marketing appointment with yourself.
Translate your goals into a list of tasks. And set to work chipping away at those tasks in your daily appointment.
With this approach, you’re moving beyond individual goals. And turning marketing into a habitual process.
Calendar Your Daily Marketing Appointment
Create a daily reoccurring calendar reminder in Outlook, or iCalendar, or Entourage, or Google Calendar or whatever calendaring application you happen to use? (If you’re not already using an electronic calendaring application, it’s time to “get on the stick,” as Grandma Anys would say. But that’s a lesson for another day.)
Daily Appointment Parameters
Set aside at least 20 minutes every day in your schedule for marketing… strategy … planning … project work … whatever it is, just as long as it’s marketing related.
And calendar the appointment as reoccurring daily reminder. (The kind that pops up on your computer or smartphone screen and says: Do This NOW!)
Schedule + Organize = Divide & Conquer
With a daily appointment, you can organize your workflow and schedule your marketing projects over the calendar year. Monthly, weekly, or even daily assignments – whatever works best for you.
For example… July: website updates. August: social media campaigns. September: email marketing sales funnel. And so on…
Stay On Top of Reoccurring Marketing Tasks
Daily reminders are also a great way to keep up with reoccurring marketing tasks. For example… Make notes in your daily reminders to follow up with prospects or keep in touch with current clients.
Monitoring Social Profiles
In the last post I covered the importance of monitoring and updating your social profiles. Add a profile review reminder to you marketing appointment in the first week of each new quarter. Then your social profiles will never be out of date.
Just a Few Ideas…
These are just a few suggestions. There are certainly lots more ways you can use this strategy to develop marketing habits guaranteed to improve your business.
A Look Behind the Curtain
In my next post, I’ll pull back the curtain and offer you a glimpse of my marketing habits. They’re not quite on the scale the Wiz had going in Emerald City. But it’s a valuable perspective none-the-less.
What About You?
Have you set 2015 marketing goals for your business? What sort of progress have you made? If you’ve fallen down, do you think focusing on habits, rather than goals, could benefit your business? Share your insights on my Google+ page.