Success in Q1 doesn’t just happen on a whim; it happens to businesses that plan for it and execute accordingly.
Here’s the short version:
Every year we see businesses failing to prepare for the following year, and every year we watch as they scramble to pull some sort of marketing together in January.
Generally speaking, this scramble doesn’t produce the results you’re after.
So, you have two options:
Option 1 – Take the blue pill: Do nothing, rest on your laurels and scramble in January to try and pull something together. This option usually means you’re not truly ready to drive leads until the second quarter of 2024 at a minimum, at which point you’ve missed the boat.
Option 2 – Take the red pill: Take the initiative, and put together a comprehensive marketing strategy in October/November/December that will run over the holidays (most of which is automated, don’t worry!). This allows you to hit the ground running in January and come out on top.
In order to get this process spot on, we highly recommend giving Catalyst a shout as soon as possible! Your campaign will not be ready to launch for Christmas if you don’t start planning immediately.
We are a curated team of digital marketing experts, from SEO wizards and design masters through to campaign planning geniuses and copywriting extraordinaires. We’re here to ensure you have the competitive edge you deserve when the New Year rolls around.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of what you need to do (and what we can help you achieve):
Catalyst’s Quick Guide to Preparing for Q1 Success
While there is a lot to get done, don’t panic – there’s still time to get everything sorted (that’s if you’re reading this in October or November!). Reading this a little late? Cut your losses and get started now!
Chances are you won’t be able to conduct a full marketing overhaul, but there is time to fully review your digital footprint, look at conversion rate optimisation and identify new marketing campaigns that can be launched in January.
As a result, we recommend:
- Taking the time to carefully review your existing marketing – what’s working, what’s not working.
- Run through your entire digital footprint, assess whether your current website is performing how you need it to – is it driving leads, does it properly frame your business?
- Refining your existing marketing comms and ensure that you’re optimising for conversions – are you featuring frequent, quality calls-to-action? Does your content provide value to the reader?
Following on from this, you’ll need to:
- Create informative, engaging content
- Use automated email workflows to help drive traffic to this content
- Create social ads for cold data
- Create remarketing ads for those who read your content
- Form an ongoing SEO plan
This is a large, and frankly overwhelming to-do list, but this process lays the foundations for your success, not only in Q1, but throughout the rest of the year.
Much of the ongoing marketing comms will be automated, too, meaning you’ll have more time to focus on what you do best – growing your business!
Why start now?
Marketing takes time to get the ball rolling.
If you start around October/November time, you’ll have 2-3 months to prepare your website, content and marketing comms, meaning that your marketing is ready to go in January; ready to deliver results.
If, for example, you started in January, that’s 3 months you’ve missed out on. It’ll be around April by the time you’re in the same position and ready to really get going.
Trust us, it’s a big difference, and you’ll thank yourself later.
So, what should you do next?
Successful businesses start now, and many successful businesses take the time to talk to marketing experts like our team at Catalyst.
For example:
Lauralu saw a 335% increase in campaign leads.
Bespoke saw a 42% increase in revenue.
H2O Hygiene saw a 77% increase in qualified leads.
Purbeck Insurance saw a 200% increase in applications.
All from getting their marketing up and running, ready to smash the New Year. The sooner you get in touch, the sooner we can start the process, and the sooner you will see results in 2024.
