Read this article to know how to get the most out of your 2023 marketing planning. With the start of a new year comes goal setting. We all know what goals are, but do we really know how to get the most out of them? A huge part of goal setting is making sure you are setting the right kinds of goals. The wrong goals will add unneeded stress and make things more difficult than they need to be. By having effective and thorough planning, you will avoid these pitfalls and be able to achieve your goals. We have included a guide for your 2023 marketing planning below.

Set goals that are S.M.A.R.T.

Many of us have heard of the S.M.A.R.T. acronym, but we don’t always use it. For those who don’t know what it means, it stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and on a time frame. Each of these attributes is important in creating goals for different reasons. You want to accomplish your goals and if they are not realistic or they are too vague, you will make it harder  for yourself to be successful. Always ask yourself if these 5 attributes are present as you are setting goals.

Don’t be afraid to break goals down

This goes hand in hand with keeping your goals specific. When looking at the year as a whole, it can be easy to set more lofty overarching goals. This is totally fine, but part of your planning will need to be breaking down those bigger goals into smaller goals that can be tracked. This makes the big goals more digestible and helps with the planning process. By breaking bigger goals down, you will essentially be making a road map to getting your business where you want it to be by the end of 2023.

Make goals for each different marketing channel

You want to set specific goals for each of the different marketing efforts. This will be helpful as you plan what sorts of strategies you need to do differently for each of the marketing channels. It is also important as you choose the most appropriate content for each channel. By setting different goals for each of your marketing channels you will ensure that you don’t fall into the, “One size fits all,” Mindset. Keeping your strategies catered to each different channel will help your efforts to be more effective.

Use the right KPIs

In one of our previous posts, we talked about how to choose the right KPIs, also known as key performance indicators. Having the right KPIs will be significant in measuring your marketing in 2023. You will want to start the year off on the right foot. If you don’t decide now what you will use to track your progress it will be extremely difficult to see patterns before they become a problem. Even if you don’t run into problems, by not tracking the right metrics, you will miss opportunities. Consider carefully which KPIs you will use in relation to the goals you want to set for 2023.

Consider your budget, time, and other resources

Make sure that you set aside appropriate funds from your 2023 budget for marketing. Marketing your business is important and should not be an afterthought. If you want your business to grow, then you need marketing to be a priority. Your sales alone will not cut it. This means you need to review your finances and set aside a budget specifically for your yearly marketing efforts. A big part of setting attainable marketing goals is making sure you keep your resources in mind as you make your plans for 2023. This means you will need to have sufficient resources for your marketing efforts to be worthwhile. You will also need to know the amount of time you want to spend on each of your goals for the year. By recognizing your resources and planning accordingly, you will have less waste and make more money.

Unite your plans with a vision for 2023

You want to make sure your goals work together. This is done by having a vision for your marketing efforts for the year. If your efforts are not coordinated, you will be less effective and lose money. You could still have some really great campaigns and strategies, but if they are not coordinated properly, you will miss opportunities to be even more successful. Unite your marketing efforts for 2023 with an overarching vision.

Plan out a timeline for your goals

It is really important to divide the year up by quarters. You may have an idea of where you want to be by the end of the year, but if you don’t break things down, it can be overwhelming. With scheduling out your goals, you will better be able to know that your plans are on track. If you are not hitting your quarterly goals, this will give you the opportunity to reassess your goals for the next quarter to get back on track for the year.

Set S.M.A.R.T. goals for 2023. They need to be good goals that will push your business and help you to grow. Setting the right goals and making plans to accomplish them is the key to finding success. By using our guide in your 2023 marketing planning, you will be able to come up with a more clear and helpful plan. We hope you are able to finish 2022 strong and start things off on the right foot for 2023. Let us know if you have any other goal setting tips and we hope you have a happy new year!

If you have any comments, questions, or marketing needs contact us. We’d love to help!

-The Forge Team