Best way to achieve your goals…stay focused!

When it comes to marketing your business how many of your friends, family, even strangers offer you unsolicited advice on what you should do to get noticed? There may be a few good ideas in there, but unfortunately, they don’t know your business’ entire story. While it’s important to get feedback, that is for another time entirely.

If you have marketing strategies in place – and I sure hope you do – the best way to get the most benefits out of them (and to manage these unwanted recommendations) is to stay FOCUSED.

In a world where you are bombarded by distractions you may find that staying focused is difficult. Here are some tips to help you stick to your plan, they may even help you fend off some well-meaning advice givers!   

1. Know your goal.
   Whatever your goals are, your marketing strategies need to be aligned with them. This means being very specific and deliberate. Instead of general terms like, “I want to grow my business by the end of Q4,” be clear about what it is that you want to strive to achieve. “I want to increase sales by 8% by targeting X product to X audience who have this need.” Once you have a defined goal, find strategies that will get you there. Having clear objectives for your business will allow you to concentrate on the marketing methods you establish so that you can stay focused and not get side-tracked!
   
2. Tailor your strategy.
   New social media or advertising trends are always popping up, it’s inevitable. But to be successful you need to develop strategies that are unique to your goals. This doesn’t mean you can’t access the latest trends. It just means that you may need to tweak some things to fit your needs. I don’t believe in the one-size-fits-all method to marketing your business. You are one-of-a-kind and your marketing strategies should be too. If you are interested in trying out a new marketing tool, make sure to adjust it so that it aligns with your goals and fits your needs.  
   
3. Identify areas of improvement.
   If you are the type to set things in motion and walk away, STOP! Make it a habit of regularly reviewing your marketing strategies and tracking their performance. There are so many outside forces that can and will impact your efforts – severe weather, supply chain issues, employee turnover, just to name a few. If you make the time to review your plan, examine the data, and adjust your efforts then you lessen the impact of wasting time and money.  

So, the next time someone has this ‘great idea’ they want you to try just say, “thanks, but I am confident with the strategies I have planned and I need to focus on them so I can reach my goal!”