For both individuals and businesses, the start of a new year typically signals a time for reflection as well as setting goals and resolutions for the year ahead. Here are some tips on how to set the tone for a great business year to come.
Knowing your business goal for the year is one thing, preparing your marketing plan and highlighting growth strategies to help you achieve it is another.
Review Your Vision
Your vision is the bedrock of your creative business and one of the most strategic ways to set the right tone for a new business year is to review it ahead.
Do your actions and business decisions in the outgoing year align with your vision?
How close are you to the long term goals that you set?
Has your vision changed?
Do you want something different?
Honestly answering these questions will go a long way in determining the direction of your growth in the coming year.
Evaluate Your Goals
Having reviewed your vision for your business, what is the big goal for the new year?
Do you want to:
Break into a global market?
Record a certain percentage of business or financial growth?
Grow your business or brand visibility?
Whatever the goal for the new year is, how does it contribute to realizing your vision for the business?
Achieving a big business goal entails ticking off smaller goals over a period of time. So having determined what your big goal for the year is, set smaller goals or actionable tasks that will help you achieve it.
You can read tips on how to set attainable goals here.
Prepare Your Budget
Starting a new business year requires that you have financial projections and as such, preparing a budget for your business is of utmost importance.
By now, you should have done your books for the outgoing year, review and highlight the areas in which you did well and where you didn't. This will help you to avoid a repeat of unnecessary expenditure and guide you through properly channeling your finances to the right courses.
Estimate your expected income in the new year as well as your expenditure while leaving room for unplanned expenses. Be aspirational but keep your estimation realistic.
Prepare Your Marketing Plans
Knowing your business goal for the year is one thing, preparing your marketing plan and highlighting growth strategies to help you achieve it is another.
Review surveys you carried out and do some more research to know what will appeal to your customer base in the new year.
Highlight the ways in which you can grow visibility for your business to retain your customer base as well as attract new ones. Consider various marketing channels like:
Print, TV, Radio, Billboards advertising
Email Marketing
Social Media Strategy
Search Engine Optimization, etc
If your business thrives on online or digital marketing, start preparing your sales funnels as well as social media calendar for the new year.
Ensure that you review your marketing strategies from the previous year, do not allocate resources to failed strategies but be open to trying new ones.
Communicate With Your Team
It is not enough to know your vision and business plans, it is imperative that you share them with the people that will work with you towards achieving them.
Schedule a meeting with your team members where you appreciate them for their efforts in the past year and motivate them for the new business year.
Share the business' performance in the past year, your projections and plans as well as your expectations of them for the new year.
Having ticked this checklist as shared above, you're well on your way to starting a new business year on the right foot!
As Always Team SEED is rooting for you!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!