Quarter 4 can be crucial, so it’s best to have an especially good strategy. Here’s some guidelines.
First, Look Inward
At this time of year, the heaviness of what we’ve been carrying all year can result in burnout, overwhelm and exhaustion. Self-care is a key business strategy. The health of your business is completely dependent on your own mental, emotional, and physical health. Block out downtime, exercise, family time, vacation days and ‘white space’ in your calendar, so you can breathe, think, and reflect.
Set Goals
To set goals, you want to determine what you’re trying to achieve with this plan—lower customer acquisition cost (CAC), bring in more qualified leads, increase return on investment (ROI), or something else? Begin by identifying your key performance indicators (KPIs). These metrics put a tangible value on your marketing goals, like revenue, gross margin, or ad spend. By setting KPIs, you can measure your progress towards these goals and potentially adjust along the way to stay on track. Keep in mind, if setting goals strictly for Q4, make them attainable in this short time frame.
Mind the Holidays
The holidays round out the fourth quarter and for many companies, this is where the most money is made. For small businesses, take this time to highlight what makes small businesses better for holiday shopping. For all the large businesses, use the holidays as a big push for your products that are being discontinued. There will always be people taking big holiday shopping trips so use this season to really sell your product or service. Providing customers with great deals or promotions never hurts either.
Analyze Data
You could wade through 12 months of metrics, but old information won’t tell you what you need to know, and decisions based on decayed data are more likely to miss the mark. On the other hand, real-time data can tell you right now whether your goals are within reach or within sight, so you can make necessary adjustments as you go.
Sales Strategy
Taking a good, hard look at your Q4 sales strategies is another way to prepare to finish the year strong. Analyze where you stand concerning achieving your yearly goals as a group and as individuals and strategize how your Q4 efforts can get you there.
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