4 Tips for An Effective 2022 Marketing Plan

An effective, well-organized marketing plan starts with some introspection. Before customers opt to do business with you, they’ll want to learn more about your company and its values. This is your opportunity to practice your storytelling skills. What makes your company stand out? Compare your strengths against your competitors and consider how you can improve in areas where they may have an advantage over your business.

To connect more deeply with your customers and potential customers, help them understand what your company stands for. Many customers, especially those from the millennial and Gen Z cohorts, gravitate toward businesses that they perceive as being transparent and authentic and that prioritize employee satisfaction. It can help to share details about your employees and how you show your appreciation for their contributions. Make it easy for your customers and prospects to relate to your business and understand why they should work with you.

1. Make goal setting clear and actionable. Before updating your marketing plan, gather your team and brainstorm your goals for the coming year. Review your 2021 plan and data: Were your goals met? Why or why not? Consider any changes that may have occurred in the last year to your audience, products or services, and discuss what you can do better. Look at the types of revenue or client goals you need or want to achieve. Are there places where your company should expand or place more focus? Visualize what the next year will look like for your business and plan how to get there.
   
   Next, determine what will set your business up for success. Consider what indicators or evidence will demonstrate that you’ve reached your goals. Are there resources in place to help you attain your goals for the new year?


2. Go multichannel. Avoid pigeonholing your business by committing all your marketing dollars to just one or two tactics. Focus on developing a multichannel marketing strategy instead. To resonate with today’s customers, your messaging needs to help them connect with your brand and business. Spread your marketing across a variety of digital and traditional platforms. Diversify your planning with emails, a website, social media, search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising and more to ensure you have multiple touchpoints with your customers. 
   
   Not only should you plan to use several different channels to reach your audience but also to run your campaigns simultaneously. This integration will give you maximum exposure and increase your chances of being seen by the right customers. To make the greatest impact, be sure that you’re consistent with your messaging and brand voice across all your platforms.


3. Capture and measure data. Your most effective marketing should align with your goals, be measurable and provide an accurate picture of how your multichannel campaign has performed. Set weekly, monthly and quarterly goals and analyze the data to determine your success rate. Many different metrics can help you measure success; which ones you use depend on your internal definition of goal attainment. 
   
   Some commonly used key performance indicators (KPIs) include revenue attribution (which campaigns brought in revenue), lead volume, conversions, customer retention, brand awareness, engagement, form completion, visitors (to a site or landing page), qualified leads (leads that meet your established criteria) and time-on-site. Choosing the right metrics will allow you to measure whether you’re meeting the expectations laid out in your marketing plan. When you have a complete understanding of campaign performance, you can follow up with or nurture new leads or do some retargeting.


4.  Revisit and update. There are many other elements you can include in your marketing plan. These suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg for an effective marketing plan. Consider leaving room in your plan to test new opportunities and platforms, segment your potential customer lists, establish a thorough budget, host or attend special events, or develop contingency planning in case something goes wrong (like another global pandemic). A thoughtfully developed marketing plan is an essential tool to guide you through a new year.