Many marketers are evaluating whether they should create a year-long or six-month marketing plan for 2024. Regardless of which path you pursue, it’s important to think strategically about the year ahead.
Here are the steps marketing leaders should take to set their teams up for a successful 2024.
EVALUATE YOUR BRAND’S RESPONSE TO WORLD EVENTS
Every company had to pivot their marketing strategy to ensure they were sensitive to what was happening across the globe, and in their own backyards. Evaluate how your organization responded – whether it was internal or external communications, public partnerships, advertising or public relations. What was effective? What wasn’t? And more important, what’s the protocol for how the organization will respond if these events happen again? Create standard operating procedures so the organization and your team are prepared.
UNDERSTAND THE ORGANIZATION’S GOALS
In order to create an effective marketing plan, you need to understand what the organization’s leadership is trying to achieve in the year ahead. For some companies, it’s merely staying afloat, for others it’s pivoting their business strategy and creating new products or services to remain competitive, and for the lucky few, it’s capitalizing on the growth their sector is seeing. Meet with leadership within sales, operations, practice leaders or the CEO to understand the company’s goals and objectives so the marketing strategy can align to help achieve those goals.
CREATE A MARKETING PLAN
Once you understand the objectives of the organization for 2024, set the strategy for the team and how marketing efforts will help achieve the company’s priorities. As much as possible, quantify marketing goals. For example, if a goal is to drive traffic to the website, how many views, how many conversions, how many new or returning users, etc. Keep in mind, marketing should be focused on the bottom line – how can you drive revenue or generate cost savings?
EVALUATE THE TEAM
This year will go down in history as a defining year for many people’s careers. Marketers especially were stretched and challenged in new ways, forced to think differently, pivot quickly and implement ideas with tight turnarounds. This atmosphere allowed some employees to shine while others were paralyzed by the pace of change. Who on your team rose to the challenge? What opportunities are there for them in the year ahead? Were new roles created as a result of the organization’s growth? Did furloughs or layoffs leave your team light for the year ahead? Talk with Human Resources about hiring needs and create job descriptions for open roles so that you can identify the talent you need to achieve your goals before the New Year begins.
SHARE THE STRATEGY
Before the start of the year, meet with your team to align on goals, responsibilities and your vision for the group in 2024. Share how everyone will contribute to achieving success and how their efforts will benefit the company. Share your vision for the future of the group and outline the opportunities for growth and advancement. Use the time to re-focus your team after a tumultuous year, provide praise for their efforts, flexibility, ideas and creativity.
If you are adding to your marketing team in 2024, we can help. Tell us about your hiring needs.
