Whether you call them resolutions or your 2013 marketing plan, business owners should be outlining their marketing and business goals for the New Year. No doubt improving on last year and growth in 2013 are top goals.
A Small Business Mindset
As a small business owner perhaps you’ve promoted Small Business Saturday or other initiatives to shop small, and shop local. You too need to adapt a small business mindset. Are your suppliers small businesses? Look for opportunities to switch to local and/or small businesses to supply products and services. Don’t forget to schedule real live face-to-face networking into 2013. Get involved in your local chamber of commerce or downtown initiatives.
There is growing interest in buying local. Source local and let your customers know you do.
Attract Moppers
Mobile shoppers or moppers are a force worth attending to. By 2015 the internet will be accessed via phone and mobile device more than personal computers! Be sure to optimize your website, search marketing, and email marketing to mobile users. Need a website review, ask Fletcher Freelance.
Mobile users look for local businesses, too. Make sure your business is listed on Google Places, Yahoo Local, and MapQuest. Get an internet marketer to check what your local visibility is.
Mobile will be big in 2013 and keep growing. Act now – not later – before you lose those migrating over.
Ask for Help
The life of a business owner can get lonely. And when you’re working 70-90 hours a week it’s easy to spread yourself too thin. Know is the time to invest in your company by allowing experts to take over some of the workload. Consider a virtual assistant or freelancer for a little help here or there. Get someone to do your social media marketing or blog updates.
Internet Marketing in 2013
It’s not too late to use blogs, Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ to build relationships with your customers and prospects. You don’t have to take on every new technology or network either. Pick one to try and do it well. See What is the Most Important Social Network for Your Business to make the best choice.
Get serious about social media because your customers are using it. They need to be able to find you online.
If it’s been a year or more since you updated your website, now is the time to take fresh look at your online presence. Is everything current? Is the focus still the same as it was when you last worked on the site? Do you have links to your social media presences?
Taxes
Take care of your 2012 tax responsibilities. Don’t wait to organize your files. Make sure your receipts are in order. And be prepared to collect all the relevant information you’ll need to in 2013. This is a good time to meet with your accountant. Ask her if there is accounting software or an app that she recommends to make expense tracking easier.
Be sure to ask about the implications of Obamacare and any other newly implemented changes.
You
Taking care of yourself in 2013 starts today. Set reasonable goals for yourself and your company. Schedule downtime (you’ve heard of it before, right?), reward yourself for reaching milestones, and do whatever it takes to keep yourself motivated, productive, and healthy.
What are your goals for 2013? Please share in the comments below.
1 comment
one thing I’ve learned in 2013 is to find the most searched word on Google and provide the requested items. I used to think otherwise, I want to popularize the product on the internet about the products I sell.