MaineBusiness.com

I don’t know what the “new normal” is just yet, but I can tell you if you have guided your brand successfully through the past 12 months, it’s time to look out from under the covers, dust yourself off and get your business and your brand ready for 2010.

In doing so, you will create the “new normal” – not only for YOUR business, but also for your part of the entire economic engine that drives your local economy, your industry and ultimately, the world!

If you buy into the concept that a rising tide floats all ships, then whether you recognize it or not, you are floating – and you are floating a bit higher than you were last year. How do I know? Because, challenging years bring change. Regardless of whether or not you have seen an uptick in sales or you are still struggling, chances are you are now leaner and more efficient than you were a year ago. You’ve adapted. You’ve created new operating paradigms. You’ve innovated!

So . . . why not dip an oar in the water and try a little forward motion? Use November and December to layout a marketing plan – one that directly ties advertising, public relations, events, community sponsorships, use of social media, etc., to your business goals for the coming year – and includes ways to measure the success of what you undertake!

At Burgess Advertising & Marketing, we advise clients to include the following in any marketing plan:

Marketing Objectives – measurable outcomes by target audience or product/service line.
Target Audiences – current and/or new customers/clients; going deeper in your current customer base or broadening your produce/services to reach new audiences.
Marketing Strategies – the “how” of how are you going to accomplish the objectives – through special promotions, education of audience members, through paid advertising, through “earned media” or public relations, and so on.
Marketing Tactics – specific line item projects to undertake – print, radio, TV, sales literature, trade show booths, public relations events/articles, facebook/twitter/social media outlets, web site enhancements, you name it!
Budgets and Timelines – how much each marketing line item will cost and when the planned activities will occur over the course of the next year.
Evaluation Mechanisms – how you will measure the success of various marketing outreach efforts.

In two short months, you can have a plan in place that carries your company from “survive” to “thrive.” Now THAT would be a pretty decent “new normal” don’t you think?