It’s easy to get caught in the hustle and bustle of these last few months of the year.
Halloween, Bonfire Night, winter campaign planning and then before you know it, you’re sat on your living room floor opening Christmas presents when it suddenly dawns on you… You didn’t complete your 2024 marketing plan.
Now that is a nightmare before Christmas.
But, luckily for you, we’re here to remind you it’s time to start planning, now.
Is this not a bit eager?
Not at all. Creating a comprehensive and clear marketing plan is a complex process and trust us, we know.
It involves conducting market research, setting clear objectives, defining target audiences, and pulling together an effective strategy.
It also provides you with the perfect opportunity to get key stakeholders around the table, map out the plan, and get buy-in on your marketing activity for the year ahead. This gives teams clarity and a clear understanding of where the business is going and how they are contributing.
Rushing through these key steps can lead you down a rocky road to poor decision-making and ineffective campaigns. But, starting early gives you the time to craft a well-thought-out plan that aligns with your business goals, has wider buy-in, and ensures you can enjoy your mince pies stress-free.
The early bird catches the worm…
And this holds true in the business world.
Planning ahead gives you that edge over your competition, you’ll understand the best times to launch campaigns, when to align content with wider sector themes, and the best way to reach your audience.
And if that didn’t give you the push you needed to start your plan early, hopefully thinking about your marketing budget is.
We all know that marketing budgets are a precious resource and deciding how to allocate it effectively across the year is a critical aspect of the planning process.
Starting early gives you that time to sit down, assess your financial situation, set budget priorities, and allocate your resources strategically across events, campaigns, and other marketing activities.
This will help you ensure you make the most of your budget for the year and will help maximise your ROI – everyone’s a winner.
Shall I load up Excel?
Starting your 2024 marketing plan early isn’t just about convenience, it’s imperative if you want your marketing activity to be effective.
Not only this but it gives you time to reflect back on your previous year so you can see clearly what did and didn’t work and make clear, data-driven decisions to get the most out of your activity in the year ahead.
So don’t wait for Christmas day for the planning panic to set in, start your plan for next year now so you can start the year as you mean to go on.
Looking to do something different this year but not sure where to start? Drop us an email and see how we can help you get ahead of the game.
