As another business year comes to a close, you'll notice that people start turning their attention to other things, from holiday vacations and gift-buying excursions to dealing with a houseful of school-aged children. It's only natural to say, "Well, this year's done, so let's just button this one up and take a breather." You've certainly earned a rest, after all. But does your marketing campaign has to go on hiatus as well -- and can you afford to present your target audience with the sound of silence?
Smart marketers know that promoting a business is a year-round concern. The marketing you do right now will have a direct impact on your Q1 sales (and beyond) next year. Feel free to put December to bed if you wish, but don't neglect January in the process. A new year represents a new opportunity for fresh initiatives, changes in your corporate direction, re-branding efforts or any other kind of "face lift" you may want to give your enterprise. Schedule those meetings with your copywriter, graphic designer, or marketing strategy team so that you can roll those changes out to great fanfare right on schedule.
Does your company actually experience its peak activity between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day? Many seasonal businesses and non-profit organizations have more work than they can handle right now, with products and services flying off of the proverbial shelves to accommodate holiday demands. It's all too easy to look around during a particularly profitable time and say, "Well, who needs marketing when the money's rolling in?" That's when some marketing departments and business owners slack off on their marketing efforts -- only to wonder why they have no revenue coming in once the seasonal dust has settled.
The good news is that you don't have to labor away at your desk like Bob Cratchit through the end of December -- not if you plan your marketing content creation wisely. Create an editorial calendar to ensure that you always know what marketing content you need for each week, month or quarter. Your marketing pros can then produce that content in advance so that it can be released automatically at the appropriate intervals. When the holidays come, you all get some well-earned time off, secure in the knowledge that your pre-built marketing engine continues to chug along in your absence.
By the way, it's still not too late to produce that much-needed web page content, blog article, sales letter, press release or other piece of marketing content. Even this close to the end of the year, you'll find us freelance copywriters happily working away like Santa's elves to help our clients enjoy the most profitable season possible. So don't be shy -- what do you want for Christmas?
