With the arrival of the big, jolly man in the red suit fast approaching, the idea of smashing out some marketing activities may not be high on the agenda for many small business owners.
That said, there are some key marketing activities you can focus on this month, which might help you hit the ground running when you return to the office in 2017.
Clean up your client database
Database quality is often overlooked by many businesses, and the weeks leading up to Christmas could be a great time to tweak your contacts. Inadequate data management creates a poor client experience, which won’t help you generate new leads for your financial planning business.
As a first step, look at the client list you have, and work out if you have current contact information. For example, if you’re using Mailchimp, your prospective clients can update their email address and contact details. Likewise, Mailchimp will record email bounce backs.
Use the downtime effectively
The lead up to Christmas is also a valuable time for thinking about any activities you may have put on the backburner. For example, consider the content you’re creating such as blogs or vlogs. If you haven’t been keeping up with your thought leadership activities, use the holiday season to produce new content in advance. If you can create seven or eight pieces now, this effort could potentially get you through the first quarter of 2017.
Summer-clean your strategy
The end of the year often affords you a chance to reflect on your strategy. Start by looking at what has and hasn’t worked. At my firm Corpwrite we call this process a ‘State of the Nation’ review. It involves assessing our firm’s current strategy and where it can be improved.
The silly season is an opportunity to examine how you’re performing against the competition. While you should never become obsessed with the immediate competition, it’s a worthwhile examining whether they are doing anything innovative, which you hadn’t cottoned on to during the year.
Likewise, look to the wider financial market for trends and issues. Start with the content here at Professional Planner. It’s a valuable source of information, which gives you a back catalogue of relevant industry information.
The end of the year doesn’t mean it’s the end for your marketing. Think about maximising the holiday period to fine tune your marketing strategy and build a library of content for 2017. By spending your time wisely now, you’ll be well-placed to enjoy a profitable start to 2017.
