Top 5 Tips for Successful Annual Planning
Can you believe it’s September already? Retail stores are already filled with Halloween costumes and candy, and before you know it, there will be holiday decorations and Christmas trees everywhere.
You know what else? It’s time to start thinking about your Annual Plan. Yep. Time flies when you’re running a small business!
But don’t worry, we’re here to help!
While developing an official annual plan can be quite a process, here are five tips to get you started!
- Think of your Annual Planning like a road trip. Ask yourself: Where am I? Where do I want to go? How do I get there?
- Answer this question honestly: This year, did our business get better, get worse, or stay the same? Why? What can you do to make sure it gets better next year?
- Jot down a list of marketing activities you completed over the past year and how successful they were. Then, make a plan to keep doing the ones that worked, stop doing the ones that didn’t work, and start doing things you haven’t done before.
- Plan your whole year in one document, like an Excel spreadsheet. Put every event in there – from big meetings, new product launches, holidays, etc. – so you can see the year at a glance and know when you have time to dedicate to new marketing efforts.
- Narrow down your ideas. While it’s fun to think about “doing it all,” it’s better (and more efficient) to work with fewer, bigger, better ideas.
Want more guidance on developing your successful annual plan? Join LSMGuide.com today for access to our Annual Planning Guide! It takes you through analyzing where you area, determining where you want to go, identifying how you with get there including key activity recommendations and building your plan and calendar for the year.
