The new year is a great time to recalibrate your company’s marketing efforts. Just like New Year’s resolutions are meant to strengthen your body and/or mind, a new year’s review of your marketing initiatives can help you build a better lead-generation and prospect-capturing program.

Below are recommendations for what to consider when reviewing upcoming marketing efforts.

Update or create your marketing plan and avenues

• First off, you have a B2B marketing plan, right? If not, now’s the time to make two—a short-term plan (one-year) and a long-term (five-year) plan.
• Do you have mobile marketing campaigns? If not, create some. According to Google, the “vast majority” of search queries are now mobile.
• Look internally: How did your marketing perform last year? What are your brand’s goals, and were they met? Have they changed as your company has evolved?
• Take a hard look at your audience personas, and segment it accordingly. Who is your audience? What’s important to them? How do they communicate with you? How do your products/service relate to their needs? Knowing this will let you better target your messages.

Examine digital content that works

• Look at the digital content (web, email, and social media) you created last year; what earned views, clicks, and feedback? Those are topics your audience cares about and perceive value. Can you update and re-use that content? Can you expand on those ideas or create spin-off ideas for your new editorial calendar?
• Study your competitors. Which of their marketing materials seems to be successful? Can you spin those topics to make them your own?
• Create killer, hyper-focused calls to action to lead prospects into your sales web.

Decide on specific digital marketing projects—and then go do them

• Pick a few realistic goals for this year. Maybe you want to add to your bank of customer success stories or produce a white paper to establish you as a thought-leader. Make a detailed plan to accomplish those goals. Include deadlines and a budget, as well as hoped-for results.
• And finally, don’t do this in a vacuum. Your sales team is on the frontlines, and they know what messages and calls to action resonate with prospects. Listen to them.

Get help completing your B2B marketing materials

If you’re concerned you may not have the resources to pull off your newly ambitious marketing plan, consider working with an agency like BayCreative. Based in San Francisco, we’re a full-service B2B marketing/creative/branding agency with 20+ years experience working with a range of companies and industries. We can bring that expertise to your next project.

All the best,
- Team BayCreative -