I’ve always loved the time between Christmas and New Year’s. Life usually slows down enough to reflect on the year prior and think about goals for the year ahead.
I love goal-setting as much as the next person. It’s energizing and paints a true roadmap for the future. However, over several years of setting my own goals and helping my clients set theirs, I’ve noticed that we forget to think about the marketing that goes along with the goals when we set them. Here’s what I mean…
Let’s say that you own a coffee shop and it’s going very well. It’s going so well, in fact, that you set a goal to open an additional location in 2022. A lot of planning goes into opening a new location. You have to raise capital to cover overhead, hire employees, purchase inventory, and the list goes on. But on that list, is marketing included?
For example, when will you launch a website for that new location? When will you build an email list so that by the time you open, you have a line out the door? When will you build the app that makes ordering so convenient it becomes part of your customers’ morning routine?
All of the marketing examples I just stated above should ideally be implemented far in advance of that new location opening. In fact, when people ask when they should start marketing a new product, service, change, or even business, I always tell them, “before you’re ready.” This is usually met with resistance because people think it’s risky to start marketing before they are ready… but nothing could be less risky.
How do you know you will get traffic to your website (and thus your new offering) unless you build the website? How do you know you’ll be able to build an email list or a customer list until you start trying? How do you know who will be interested in booking appointments or enrollments unless you open a waitlist?
Wouldn’t it be great to answer these questions before you put your new product, service, location, or (enter goal here) out into the world?
This kind of thinking can be uncomfortable initially, but there is so much to be gained from putting marketing as the number one task to goal achievement. Not only does it take the mystery and risk away, it makes post-launch a lot easier too. You will be reassured as you build traffic (and potential customers), and you’ll find that you’re not running to catch up with what the consumer wants because you’ve already been getting to know the consumer through your marketing actions. Isn’t it nice to think about the ability to proactively market to your ideal customer rather than chase their wants needs and desires, constantly hoping to catch up before your competitor does?
As you set your goals for 2022, put two columns on that paper. One for the goals, and the other for the marketing you’re going to start working on for those goals before you’re ready. I promise the dividends will come.
