Depending on your point of view, 2016 was a great year or a ghastly one.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,
it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
Common business dilemmas from our current situation include these:
- Did the political climate just get better for my company or worse?
- Is the stock market going up or down?
- Will the global marketplace affect me positively or negatively?
- Are the tax law changes going to be advantageous for small business, big corporations, both or none?
- What about wages, health care and immigration – will they be improved or will they get worse?
The uncertainty of it all can be overwhelming, so we’re here to help you through the anxiety, help you focus on what’s important for your company’s end-of-year planning and allow you to bid farewell to 2016 on an upswing. Here are five big-picture guidelines for your business and your marketing strategies that will be important regardless of other factors:
- Don’t look back. Make plans for your best year ever – 2017! Purge your atmosphere of negative energy and of things that don’t work. If you are doing something just because it’s the way it’s always been done, it’s time to re-evaluate. Put business and marketing goals in writing with action items, timetables and responsible parties. “Accept the things you cannot change” and overhaul the things you need to change.
- Thank your clients or customers in meaningful or thoughtful way for their business throughout the year. It’s not meaningful or thoughtful to send a holiday card with a pre-stamped signature. It is meaningful to know something about or find something out about your client and give accordingly. It is thoughtful to pick up the phone and say “thanks” without a “gimme” thrown in the same conversation.
- Implement a personalized marketing approach. It’s not enough to do mass distribution. Find a way to make it personal and relevant. Customers are too busy to weed through the clutter – give them what they want and need.
- Prepare and update your systems, blueprints, networks and employees for secure and convenient administration. This include things such as your accounting systems, hardware, computers, servers and more. Get ready for anything that might come your way.
- It feels good to give time and/or money to others who need something you can provide. It also helps you expand your world and your mind with new experiences.
Finally, here’s a bonus tip: channel middle school English and read or re-read the Charles Dickens classic novel, A Tale of Two Cities” set in London and Paris around the time of the French Revolution. If nothing else, you will appreciate your situation in a whole new context.
So long 2016,
Leisa Chester Weir
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