Marketing annual planning, easy isn’t it?

7 steps for a successful marketing annual planning (Checklist)

1. Outlook

We examine the framework in which marketing will operate next year, what the requirements will be and where the company is heading.

1. What is the company’s goal? Is there a change of course or new business challenges?
2. Do we want: more visibility, more leads from the existing market, sell a new product to existing customer, expand into a new country, or even target more applicants?
3. Are there trends in the market we want to address: e.g. sustainability communications, power shortages, or skills shortages?

2. Review

We get better when we learn from experience – for this it is worth taking a critical look back:

1. What worked well, what do we have under control?
2. Did we achieve the goals we set?
3. What did not work?
4. What do we continue to do and what do we leave behind?
5. Where do we want to try something new and break new ground?

3. Definition of measurable goals

Something that cannot be measured or quantified does not have its place here. We love data analysis and evaluation, it’s the only way we can continuously optimize and improve.

1. How are we measured?
2. Which KPIs can we define?
3. At what frequency do we report to whom?
4. How do we communicate the impact of marketing internally?

4. Action roadmap

Which target groups do we address to achieve our goals? With which messages and content, on which channels?

1. What do we already have, and what can we use further?
2. Which channels are available to us and which media do we want to use? (owned, paid, earned)
3. What is mandatory: which trade shows, events, customer magazines, campaigns, etc. do we have to implement?
4. Which new topics do we want to focus on?

5. Scheduling and milestones

Once we have defined the main topics and channels, we can start working on the schedule.

1. Is there a specific annual topic?
2. Which milestones are fixed, which can we set?
3. Which special industry highlights should we not miss under any circumstances?
4. Are there more intensive months and less intensive ones?

6. Budget

Now we can plan the budget and resources needed for the coming year.

1. What budget items do we need for the marketing activities?
2. What internal and external resources are needed?
3. Where does the budget have the most ROI?

7. Team

The annual marketing plan is only in place when the people in charge have grasped their jobs and can get started.

1. What can we implement in-house?
2. Where do we bring partners on board?
3. Which tools do we use?
4. How do we structure the collaboration?

Bonus: do SMEs also need elaborate annual marketing planning?

Definitely, large companies with marketing departments need annual marketing planning – but so do SMEs or small businesses! Goal definition, measurability and focus are of enormous importance for any marketing activity. Efficient and effective marketing is always smartly planned and orchestrated marketing.

Every year, we help our clients get the most out of their marketing efforts – a key tool for this is annual marketing planning with measurable goals.