Business Success for 2022: Now is the Time to Plan

The secret to business success for 2022 is to start planning for it now. Many of our clients are reviewing their business plans, marketing plans and strategies for achieving their goals. Planning ahead for next year is a valuable way to invest in your business. You can know ahead of time what to do next and be proactive – not reactive. Making and having plans helps you guide your actions with efficiency and effectiveness.

Planning Ahead for Next Year, Now

Rounding the corner on Q3 2021, now is the time to plan for business success in 2022. So dust off your business plan. Does it still resonate with your goals for success? First, take the time to review the foundation of why you started this business in the first place. Make sure it still makes sense for you, for your time and energy, and for the market. Update it if you need to.

Next it is time to draft your marketing plan for 2022. Where to start? Look at your business revenue goals for the year. That number helps guide your marketing spend. Companies in 2021 spent 8.6% of topline revenue on marketing. Whatever your percentage is, don’t let this number be subjective. It is black and white.

Once you have your number, create a marketing plan. Without a roadmap, the squirrels and shiny objects will be your focus. Don’t let that happen. Staying on track to business success is much easier with a plan. Build your plan around repeating and expanding around prior success points, and adding new tactics that make sense. The plan you create can be annual or quarterly, but it can encompass many things: creative campaigns, paid advertising, PR, content or a new product or services launch. A solid marketing plan will create focus and executional excellence around several tactics working together toward a common goal. This approach will ultimately save you money, by getting you more bang for your buck.

Invest in Your Business Success

Invest in your business the smart way – and we don’t just mean monetarily. Your focused thoughtfulness and the time spent on your plan will be repaid. First, focus on your business successes by continuously improving your plan and your execution of the plan. How did your tactics for a specific campaign fare? Track and measure your results each quarter, and implement your findings into the next quarter’s plan to continue success and build momentum. Invest in the things that work. Pivot toward the successful strategies. Experimentation within the framework of your marketing plan can help you home in on insights that will get you to your revenue number for 2022.

Define Your Goals So You Can Reach Them

Define messages, targeted audiences, goals, strategies, tactics, timeline and budget. How can you reach your goal if it is not clearly defined? How detailed you are is up to you. What we have found on the Porch is that the partners that have defined their marketing budgets and plans have been successful. Being thoughtful upfront about your goals in all areas of marketing your business can set you up for business success in 2022 and beyond.