I just love January 1st! You know why? Because with each New Year comes a fresh start…brand-spanking new energy…and a feeling of invigoration. It’s the perfect time to take a look at the year behind, acknowledge your successes, see where you can improve, and set your roadmap for the coming year.
Here are 11 money-making New Year’s resolutions in the areas of sales and marketing for 2014. See what excites you, and feel free to adopt them as your own for your business. Let’s get those creative juices flowing…
- I promise to carefully review our CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE from the very first contact, through the sale, and beyond to build the strongest possible customer relationships.I will come up with a great THANK YOU GIFT and have it sent to all of our customers. It’s an Old World way of doing business that still works – everyone loves to hear “Thank you!”
- I vow to SHOW APPRECIATION FOR OUR EMPLOYEES. It’s the small things that can really make a difference in the happiness level of staff…and that shows up in the customer experience, too. Some ideas: a hand-written thank you note, mid-year bonus, spa gift certificate, tickets to an event.
- I pledge to set 3 to 5 MARKETING AND SALES GOALS to be achieved this year. I will allow myself to dream! The more measurable and specific those goals are, the better.
- I promise to put a SOCIAL MEDIA plan in place (with the appropriate combination of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc.) – and communicate with customers at least once or twice a week. If I don’t already have social media accounts, I will set them up.
- I vow to USE VIDEO to market our company. It’s the most memorable and powerful way to tell our story.
- I pledge to identify THREE KEY INFLUENCERS in my market and establish relationships with them to better spread the word about our company and products.
- I promise to have a MOBILE APP developed so consumers can instantly get information about us on their Smartphones and other mobile devices.
- I give my word that I will TAKE A RISK (a calculated one). I will use a marketing or sales technique that’s a bit out of my comfort zone with the clear intention of reaching new market segments and giving a turbo-boost to sales.
- If I’m stumped on how to continue, I vow to GET MARKETING HELP from a marketing coach or consultant or by hiring a marketing expert in-house and full-time.
- I promise to spend time in 2014 following a PERSONAL PASSION. Whether it’s within my business or outside of work, doing what I love will give me the inner fuel to excel at whatever I set my mind to.
Now that you have your list, get ready…get set…go!