It’s the middle of the year. Have you hit half of your marketing goals…. or are you off course with an even longer list of actions?
The reality is that events happen, life happens. Perhaps you’ve been too busy to hit your marketing goals. Now’s the time to re-evaluate them, revise – or maybe even remove some.
“It’s “the messy middle” – that time of year where it’s easy to feel discouraged by your lack of progress or unmotivated to keep going. It’s time to reconnect with your motivation and get back on track.” These were some great words of wisdom from Michael Hyatt. He’s been listed by Forbes as one of the top 10 online marketers to follow in 2014. He’s one expert that I make time to follow.
Now it’s time to take charge of the next half of the year.
Yesterday was a day of reflection for me. I’ve revisited my personal goals and my marketing goals for my business. After looking at my marketing dashboard and reviewing the performance data again, it’s clear I’m not where I expected to be. It’s also clear why. It’s time to revisit my WHY – why I set the goals in the first place. The middle of the year is the ideal time to reconsider your goals and identify what obstacles you need to overcome to achieve them. You may also even discover that what’s really important is not what you thought when you set your goals at the beginning of the year.
Here are some things to consider which will help you not only get back on track, but find the drive needed to make this an exceptional year for you and for your business marketing.
Review what you have accomplished
Reflect on what your marketing has achieved. Time and energy will have been poured into activity that has moved your marketing forward. Perhaps you’ve tried some new digital marketing tactics that took you out of your comfort zone. Be proud of what you’ve achieved. Then look a little deeper and determine whether these accomplishments were the most strategic things that you set out to complete this year. If they aren’t, consider why other activities came first, before your more strategic marketing goals.
Review what you have not accomplished
If you’ve not achieved anything of real significance, you must take time to look at the obstacles that stood in your way. Sometimes priorities change or your strategic direction shifts due to changes in the market. If this is the case, determine which goals are still worth pursuing and which ones you can simply cross out. Perhaps there are marketing weaknesses in your team that held you back. I’ve written a blog that might help you identify any weaknesses. Marketing is changing fast with technology becoming integral to marketing implementation. Keeping up is challenging. For help, subscribe to this blog. We offer weekly insight and tips to help you take a more strategic approach to marketing.
Write a stop doing list
Lack of time can be an obstacle that prevents us from achieving our goals. One way to steal time back is to create a stop doing list. I’ve written about this powerful list in a different blog. Trust me. Once you make this list, it’s a commitment that will help you regain valuable time back into your day. More time for marketing that achieves results.
Review your WHY
The why refers to why you set the marketing goals in the first instance. You need to have a strong enough why to give you the drive to accomplish your goal. Any worthwhile goal will be difficult to achieve. You can achieve anything, but you can’t achieve everything (thank you to Michael Hyatt for this big revelation). Pursue the goals that are important.
Tweet this : You can achieve anything, but you can’t achieve everything. #plan #SmartMarketing.
Review your Timescales
You’ve probably underestimated the amount of time needed to reach your goals. This is normal. We all do it. One trick I learned from Michael Hyatt for achieving big goals is to create a sense of momentum. The way to create this momentum is to break down your goals into segments. Constantly identify your next step, then execute it. If you take this approach, you’ll create momentum and positive achievements that keep you moving forward.
Tweet This: Don’t underestimate the time required to achieve your #marketing goals. #plan
Review your resources
Sometimes, you need to take on more resource. Lack of resource can lead to serious frustration. Don’t try to do everything yourself. This can often work best if it’s an outside resource – a fresh pair of eyes and perspective that can make a difference and really help. This extra resource can be the push you need to achieve bigger and better results. Perhaps, this outside resource is what can keep you accountable and on track to achieve your marketing goals.
Today, a client that I’ve been working with since September made a commitment to having me support them with their monthly marketing activity. Halfway through the new year, it became obvious that marketing activity was starting and stopping – a common pattern with many businesses. Marketing was getting STUCK, all due to lack of time. With outside resource, solutions become more obvious and challenges are more easily overcome.
Do you need to get back on track? It’s not too late to achieve the goals you’ve set. If you need any help with your marketing goals for the remainder of the year, get in touch.
