Marketing Plan: 5 Tips to Consider Before Summer Ends
By Barbara Pfeiffer, The Partner Marketing Group
Is it possible? Summer is almost over? While the winter snows (particularly for those of us in the Northeast seemed to linger forever), summer is flying by. While my primary piece of advice is to enjoy what’s left, summer does bring a bit of a slowdown to work and gives us an opportunity to get caught up on some projects we usually don’t have time for. Need some inspiration or looking for some high impact projects for your marketing plan? Try these:
5 Tips for Your Marketing Plan
- Create a customer survey. If you’re not already regularly surveying your customers, now is a good time to start. The responses can help you identify who’s willing to share their stories – from a simple quote for your site to a customer case study or video. At the same time – use this opportunity to provide extra attention for those less than thrilled customers.
- Update your personas (or at least look at them). Industries change and the needs of customers in those industries will change as well. The pains from 3 years ago may not be the same today. You’ve also, more than likely, changed who you are targeting (or added new industries). Make sure you have updated personas for all your markets. Don’t have personas? Now is the time to build them. Whether you’re updating or building – make sure you work with your sales team. What are they hearing from customers as the biggest challenges?
- Build your influencer list. For content ideas, content to share with your customers and prospects and – go to the experts. Take some time this summer to do online searching. Look at blogs, industry associations and magazines and LinkedIn for influencers in your client industries. Need help managing your content sources? Check out our Content MX tool for a complete content solution.
- Inventory your blog. We’re halfway through the year. If you’ve been blogging all year, you should have some great content you can start to pull into a yearend “best of” eBook. This is a great time to pick the best pieces, see what you might want to add with second half blogs and begin to design your eBook. Start now when it’s slower and you’ll have an original piece ready to go in January with little effort.
- Read a book. I have my beach reads all lined up. Top on my list is Go Get a Watchman by Harper Lee. On the business side – I’ve already previewed a bunch of books via Kindle and selected my top three reads.
- Everybody Writes: Your Go to Guide for Creating Ridiculously Good Content. Ann Handley
- Buyer Personas: How to Gain Insight Into Your Customer’s Expectations, Align Your Marketing Strategies and Win More Business. Adele Revella
- Welcome to the Funnel. Proven Tactics to Turn Your Social and Content Marketing Up to 11. Jason Miller
I know that’s a lot considering how little of summer is left so just pick one or two. (You can save the rest for the year end.)
