Georgi Roberts  |  Thursday 11th April 2013
You’ve got the last quarter of the financial year to go.
Will you push yourself, your business, or your team to really achieve in this last quarter?
It’s time to take a look at your marketing plan and visualise the finish line.

(No marketing plan? We’ll deal with that later – let’s get q4 up and running).

For your marketing, I have four steps to get you sprinting, not walking, to ensure your brand, sales, and business reach the finish line.

Step 1: Assess – fast and honest.

Write down three KPIs that you believe you could hang your hat on for the year’s achievement. Refer to your business plan and choose three. Don’t think about whether you’ve achieved them or not; quick, write them down.

Didn’t make any? Quarter 4 is not the quarter for regrets – make some now!
Is it number of referrals? Is it repeat business? Is it increase in turnover or sales? Is it visitors to your website or click through rate of an email?

And now assess. Where are you at? How close are you to achieving those goals? How close are you to the bulls eye?

Step 2: Identify your quick and achievable wins.

Write down what needs to happen, how much they will cost and who will do it. Where are you short – time or people? Which can you afford to move on? Is everyone aware of priorities? Do you need to outsource?

Step 3: Choose your top three wins and shout about them.

Okay, so you have lots of ideas, now that time is running out. It’s like most people – we work best under crisis – suddenly there is an abundance of strategies and tactics. Choose the three that will have the highest impact, and file your others for your next planning meeting.

Pin your goals and the actions to your wall. Make sure everyone can see the quantifiable goal and who is responsible. Talk about it at a meeting, and garner support.

Step 4 – Lead by Example – begin your plan.

Be it writing a blog, updating your website, pulling together your email list for that letter of referral you’ve been meaning to ask for – it won’t happen without the first step being taken.

Don’t expect to build the Taj Mahal in Quarter 4, but you can start laying the bricks.