You probably already know that your marketing strategy should be focused on achieving your desired business growth and revenue generation results. So, if you’ve read the advice in our previous blogs, as the year went on you’ve put things in place, adjusted as needed, and checked in with your team for a mid-year plan. But, as the new quarter approaches, there’s an increased sense of urgency to pick up the pace to close out a strong fiscal year.
And that’s with good reason. In fact, according to Forbes, no time is more crucial when it comes to these marketing efforts than Q4.
So today, we’re sharing a set of key steps you can take to use your Q1, 2, and 3 data to drive your decisions and your return on investment accordingly.
Review Your Mid-Year Plan
The first suggestion our Revelation Creative team has when it comes to planning for Q4 is to take some time to review your mid-year plan.
As you do, consider what activities, launches, promotions, or other efforts produced the biggest conversions for you.
What actually gave you a solid return on investment?
What language really resonated with your audience?
What feedback on those mid-year efforts can help guide the next steps you make and where you invest your time and resources moving forward?
Asking these questions can allow you to take the rest of these steps with renewed clarity.
Review Your Budget And Touch Base With Your Accountant
Once you understand the results of your marketing efforts and how your mid-year plan panned out, it’s time to make a plan for Q4 and beyond.
One way to begin this process is to look at where your budget is and how that compares to your marketing spending so far this year.
In reviewing this information, you may consider offsetting some of your gains with Q4 marketing investments.
Aside from connecting with a marketing firm to explore where best to allocate available resources, this is a great time to contact your accountant.
Together, you can take a solid look at your books and determine how best to invest in your marketing in the months to come.
Should you consider new equipment? Merchandise or promotional items like t-shirts or pens? Print materials? Online ads? A new website?
Your accountant can help you decide what to build into your Quarter 4 planning to offset potential tax implications from capital gains.
Once you’ve had those conversations, you’ll be better prepared to connect with your marketing agency or team to explore how to make Q4 (and beyond) as successful as possible.
Choose What To Keep, Toss, And Optimize According To Your Goals
Once you’ve identified where you may want to allocate or repurpose your budget, it’s time to consider how to enhance your marketing efforts.
To do this, you’ll look at the first 3 quarters and think about how to spend and cut things strategically.
At Revelation Creative, we help our clients choose the items or projects they want to keep, toss, or optimize based on data that supports those decisions. This allows us to pinpoint things that were ineffective and assist our clients with deciding whether they want to optimize those things or toss them. It’s also a great way to see what is working and how to double down on those things to increase the ROI, if at all possible.
If this process seems overwhelming because you’re using a multi-channel marketing approach, consider your marketing projects in three distinct buckets: digital campaigns, print publications, and experiential marketing.
As you consider what to keep, toss, or optimize, be sure to draw upon your conversations with your accountant as well as your mid-year plan and any data you have year-to-date on your Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) conversion rate to Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs).
Letting go of those projects that aren’t working may feel like a loss of time and resources. But removing them from the mix will free up time and money for other efforts that may be more effective for you as you move toward your goals.
Look Ahead To Conference And Trade Show Season With Confidence
Finally, it’s time to look ahead.
Conference and trade show season starts up in September. It’s a great time to bring your renewed and enhanced marketing plan to the forefront. You’ll want to have your trade show assets ready, promotional materials prepared, and you’ll want to make every effort to kick it into high-gear for those upcoming in-person opportunities that arrive each fall.
Make The Most Of Your Marketing Efforts In Q4 And Beyond
Want some help in planning your final Q4 push? Looking to put a more effective marketing strategy in place for Q1 of the new year?
At Revelation Creative, we’re here to help. Contact us here to learn more and to get started.