2016 is coming to a close already! We hope it has been a happy & successful year for you and your business. The fourth quarter is a good time for you to take a peek at how you have executed your marketing strategies while you get ready for 2017’s marketing activities. Use these last few weeks of the year to stand out from your competition and keep your marketing strong until the finish line. Here’s 3 ways to spend that last little bit of your marketing budget before 2017 makes its debut.
Give Praise to Your People
Your staff has worked hard all year, make sure they know how much you appreciate their efforts. This doesn’t have to have a huge impact on your budget, you can bring in donuts and coffee one morning or go all out by hosting a holiday get-together. Writing individual thank you notes to your staff members is also a memorable way to show your gratitude. Check out more great ways to say thank you to your employees.
Update Your Website.
Think spring cleaning but for the winter. Use this time for a quick update & refresh to your website. Check in on your writing. Make it more readable by using short, tightened phrases and use an active voice. Update your content too. You should keep any current content that is still relevant and then add new pages or lines to your site with new content. You should be able to answer ‘yes’ when you ask yourself, does the page accomplish what it’s intended to? Here’s a cool tool that can help you with optimize the content on your page.
Tie in the Holidays
Tis the season to be jolly. Connecting your marketing with the holidays will get people interested. Of course, if your product makes for a great gift, create coupons or run specials for them to get the best deal. If your product doesn’t necessarily make the best gift, you can consider themes and emotions that are associated with this time of year. People seem to be more frazzled with travel, gift buying, spending time with families and planning parties. Perhaps you can ease their stress with your product or service.
It’s use-it-or-lose-it time as far as marketing budgets go. 2017 will be here before you know it. Use these strategies & take a look at this Small Business Marketing Year End Checklist to assess your 2016 performance.