Sales and Marketing - Jen Jordan

Sales and Marketing - Jen Jordan
Jen Jordan brings a wealth of life and leadership experiences to her writing. After 10 years creating a variety of content for a nonprofit, Jen decided to establish her own writing business. She specializes in creating high quality blog and website content for small businesses. When she's not writing, Jen is a competitive triathlete with a goal of completing a triathlon in all 50 states.

6 Year-End Marketing Tasks for Small Businesses

6 Year-End Marketing Tasks for Small Businesses

As the end of the year approaches, small businesses have a unique opportunity to reflect, refine, and prepare for the next year.

For small business owners, the end of the year is not just about closing the books, it’s about building (or maintaining) momentum in your marketing strategy. Here’s a step-by-step guide to key year-end marketing tasks to ensure your business is poised for success in the upcoming year.

1. Review Performance Metrics

Understanding the performance metrics of your past marketing is the first step in planning future marketing campaigns and strategies. Set aside time to analyze the performance of your marketing efforts over the past year or six months. Focus on metrics like:

  • Website traffic
  • Conversion rates
  • Email open and click-through rates
  • Social media engagement
  • Return on ad spend (ROAS)

Tools like Google Analytics, HubSpot, or insights your website platform offers can provide valuable data and feedback. Even Facebook and Instagram can provide some helpful insights into the behavior of your followers and content engagement.

Pro Tip: Look for any seasonal trends on your data. Did specific campaigns perform better during certain times of the year? These insights can help you optimize your marketing calendar in the coming year.

2. Optimize Email Marketing Lists

Prepare for more return on your email marketing by cleaning up your email list. Remove inactive subscribers and update contact information. Segment your audience based on engagement or preferences so it’s easier to email your ideal audience with targeted information.

Consider sending a re-engagement email campaign to inactive subscribers before removing them permanently. Offering a compelling discount or valuable exclusive content can rekindle interest or bring lapsed customers back.

3. Consider a Year-End Customer Appreciation Campaign

The end of the year is an ideal time for expressing gratitude to your customers. Consider running a customer appreciation campaign to wrap up the year. This doesn’t need to be elaborate or costly. Some successful year-end appreciation campaigns have included:

  • Personalized thank-you emails
  • Holiday discounts or exclusive offers to current customers
  • Highlighting loyal customers on your social media pages

These types of gestures can foster goodwill and encourage repeat business in the new year.

4. Refresh your Digital Presence

Your website and social media profiles are often the first point of contact for potential customers. As we round out the year, take the time to spruce up your digital presence with some key tasks:

  • Update your "About Us" page. Ensure it reflects any milestones or changes from the past year.
  • Refresh and update product or service descriptions and visuals.
  • Test your website’s performance and address any issues with mobile compatibility or loading speed.

Even small aesthetic changes to your website and social media pages can signal that your business is active, up-to-date, and welcoming new customers.

5. Set Marketing Goals and Create a Content Calendar

Marketing goals should be clear, measurable, and realistic for your business. Some examples of clear and measurable marketing goals include:

  • Increase social media followers by a certain percentage or number
  • Boosting website traffic or conversion rates by a specific percentage
  • Creating a specific amount of valuable content for customers (like "How To" videos)

Remember, marketing goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Once you set your marketing goals, a content calendar can help you stay organized and consistent with your marketing efforts throughout the year. Identify key dates, major holidays, industry-specific events or seasons on your business calendar.

Plan out time-sensitive blog posts, social media campaigns, and email newsletters so you don’t miss those marketing opportunities as they come throughout the year. Your entire marketing and content calendar doesn’t need to be planned, but having the key campaigns mapped out creates structure and alleviates stress.

6. Evaluate and Set Your Marketing Budget

Year-end is an excellent time to assess your marketing budget. What was the return on investment (ROI) of your marketing spend this year? What marketing channels under-performed? Which campaigns or channels met or exceeded your goals? Consider reallocating funds to more effective strategies.

Overall, year-end marketing tasks aren’t just about tying up loose ends. The goal is to lay a strong foundation for the coming year. By reviewing performance, refining your marketing strategy, and setting clear goals, you can position your small business for continued growth and success in the coming year.

Works Cited

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/running-a-business/year-end-checklist/

https://www.yourdigitalresource.com/post/end-of-year-review-tips-for-small-business#:~:text=Year%2Dend%20reviews%20are%20the%20perfect%20time%20to,dive%20deep%20to%20find%20opportunities%20for%20potential

https://www.wix.com/blog/marketing-strategies#:~:text=Define%20your%20goals.%20Data%20repeatedly%20shows%20that,the%20SMART%20Goals%20method%2C%20broader%20SWOT%20analysis.

https://funnel.io/blog/6-tips-analyze-marketing-data