So, it’s time to work on your marketing budget for the new year. Before you jump in and start crunching numbers, make sure you pay attention to the important (and often overlooked) first step of writing down your goals. Without a set of goals, your budgeting activities are in risk of being little more than an exercise in using Excel.
Some people like to categorize their goals – they feel this gives them some structure and focus. If grouping your goals will help you, by all means do so. Just try not to get to hung up on this. Here are a few suggestions that may help:
- Personal Goals – these can include your income, more time to spend with family including vacations, new skills you want to learn, books you want to read, people you would like to meet, etc.
- Business goals – Typical business goals include annual revenue, number of new customers, number of particular type of customer, number of referrals customers, average project size, percent of customer wallet, and number of testimonials.
- Strategic goals – may include being seen as the industry leader, opening a new office, bringing on partners, or selling your business.
- Tactical goals – is it time to overhaul your website? Do you need to hire an assistant or someone else in order to meet your strategic goals? Will you focus on PR to earn recognition in your industry’s leading publication?
In order to make your budget meaningful and useful as a management tool for the coming year, take the time to think about your goals. Discuss them with your partners, employees, and peers. Take out your calendar and block out some time to spend reflecting on and writing down your goals.
