What actions do you have planned to help prepare for next year?  This checklist will help you concentrate on the New Year by creating actions in this quarter that enhance your success.

1. Review Current Projects: Capture lessons learned, customer stories, and case studies.

The delivery of your product or services reveals many aspects of your business, and improving delivery is a crucial element to evolve your business.  If you haven’t already done so, now is a good time to look at the positive and negative experiences of the years’ projects.   The value of your business is in the stories and experience of your best projects and customers.  Capture and record these in order to improve your service, build case studies, and illustrate the benefit you provide.

2. Survey customers to measure satisfaction and look for opportunity.

It is a best practice to conduct periodic customer satisfaction surveys, which are ideally completed immediately after a project or customer experience.  This type of survey is meant to capture the satisfaction of the customer in order to address issues or validate your processes and outcomes.   But, this type of survey can also help identify your customer’s motivation for doing business with you.  How did they come to Know, Like and Trust your business?  What problem was actually solved?  Understanding their level of satisfaction and why they do business with you is necessary input for your strategy and plans.

3. Validate your core difference and refine ideal customer definition.

Successful businesses are continually refining their core difference.  What may have helped you standout from the crowd could become commonplace.  Ensure this doesn’t happen by validating the “thing” that separates you from the competition. The last quarter of the year is a great time to verify that the difference you have created is still attractive to your market.

A small business best practice is to narrow your market focus and this begins with a clear definition of your ideal customer.   Review your current customers and validate their profile against your existing ideal customer thoughts.  If there are differences you should consider their impact on your marketing strategy and adjust accordingly.

4. Update your business and marketing plans, budgets, and your marketing calendar.

Include the knowledge you have gained from the previous points to update your Marketing Plan, Budget and Calendar.  Be specific with your plans and establish the actions and the measurements you can use to gauge success.  Your marketing plan should include the development of content, service innovation, execution of seasonal programs, advertisement, and the other elements that you will require your marketing focus and effort next year.  Don’t forget to include any external conditions that affect your marketing efforts.  For example: are there deadlines for industry publications or trade shows that you need to be consider?    You’ll feel more confident in your marketing effort and increase your success by having a documented plan, budget and calendar.

5. Update your referral marketing system resources with current material.

Referrals drive many small businesses and word of mouth advertisement is a significant means of business growth.  Your referral marketing engine needs to be periodically tuned with updated case stories, references, education material, and programs.  Optimizing your referral marketing system begins with delivering a remarkable experience and being referral-worthy.  The knowledge you have gained from the previous points should be reflected in your referral marketing system resources, especially great customer stories and your core difference.  Your customers and partners should understand your ideal customer profile and how best to refer business to you.  By updating your system resources you’ll ensure the engine is propelling your forward next year.

Does your business have a unique planning task for the New Year?  We would love to hear about the actions in your checklist and the successes that have delivered in past years?

If you have questions about any of the checklist items or if you would like to discuss specific actions for your business please contact us.