Xzito Creative Solutions

Welcome to 2009!  Bienvenido a 2009!

The New Year provides you with a new opportunity to accomplish all of your business goals and objectives, and achieve the success you deserve.

Setting goals for you business is one thing; achieving them is another. In my experience, achieving the highest level of success begins with an honest evaluation of the current state of your business, followed by the establishment of realistic goals for the future.

Before you start planning for 2009, step back and consider the goals you set for 2008. Did you achieve them? If so, how? If you fell short, what were the factors that held you back? Be honest; knowing the answers to these questions can help you and your staff to move forward into the New Year with a clearer perspective, and prevent you from repeating the same mistakes.

Here are 9 questions to help you determine your plan for 2009:

1.    What are the sales goals for your organization in 2009? Annual/Monthly/Weekly/Daily? Determining your sales goals will help you understand which products and services you will need to focus on. In addition, it will give you an idea of how to set your marketing budget; typically organizations invest 5% to 15% of their gross sales on marketing activities.

2.    Who are your desire prospects and how will you attract them? You need to gather as much information as possible about your prospects; what they like, where they spend their free time, what they read, when they will purchase, why they will purchase, and who else they could purchase from.

3.    How will you attract new prospects? It’s important for you to determine the different marketing methods available to communicate with your target market.  Will you utilize the web, print, radio, television, email, or another source to target your potential customers?

4.    How will you continue to provide excellent service to your customers? It’s easier and less expensive to retain existing customers than to target new ones. How can you help your customers meet their goals in 2009?

5.    Do you have a marketing calendar? When are you going to conduct your marketing activities? Which activities will you conduct? How will you evaluate if they have worked?

6.    Is your web site up-to-date? What functionalities and information do your customers expect? Can they purchase products/services online?  View account balances?  Read tips, recommendations, and reviews?

7.   Will you have a newsletter for your customers? Will it be printed and shipped?  Delivered in a magazine or newspaper? Or emailed?

8.    Do you have a social media site for your company? Are you utilizing MySpace, Facebook, Linkin, or Twitter to make connections with potential customers?

9.    Take Action!  JUST DO IT!

Remember, failing to plan is planning to fail – so set your goals and reach for them! When you have a burning desire for success, you can take your business further than you ever dreamed possible.

And remember, Xzito is here to help! For a complimentary marketing consultation and feedback on your strategic plan for 2009, click here or call 401.709.4342.

Best wishes for a successful New Year,

Jeshua Zapata
President, Xzito Creative Solutions

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 at %I:%M %p and is filed under E-Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.