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5 steps to effective marketing planning for 2025

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It's November and the elections are over, taxes have been announced, and you're gazing into your crystal ball to plan your business strategy for the next year (or more). You've already invested in marketing resource - headcount, your website, brand, your database... you've undoubtedly got campaigns up and running and are hopefully seeing some wins.

So, how can you now ensure that your marketing investment is set up to contribute to your business goals? How can that report, or event, or campaign - guarantee long-term success and be a revenue generator?

 

This article will set out the five key stages you can adopt to ensure that your marketing planning is set up for success

 

  1. Measurement

"To know where you're going, you've got to know where you came from". The first step in planning your business goals is looking at existing data - leads, sales, profits, who made what and where. Can you do the same for your marketing spend? All too often businesses haven't been able to pinpoint where marketing leads come from - or how much revenue they made.

I recently got told that, "you can't really measure marketing" - which is a myth! You can measure all marketing activity down to pounds and pence if you've got the right systems in place. Just like sales, your marketing has to be measured across your sales cycle. Some wins will be easier to spot than others - that website vacancy lead, for example. Whilst others take longer, like event attendees. Agreeing the metrics that are linked to overall business goals at the start of the year - means you will be better placed to evaluate marketing investment when setting your budget for next year.

 

  1. Align marketing goals to business goals

Marketing works best when planned alongside your business strategy. Whilst marketing can drive some quick wins in your business, building a brand or pipeline often takes some time. So it's imperative for marketing to know the direction it is heading in. What are your 'north star' goals?

Break down your business plan in to the areas that marketing is meant to drive and support:

  • Target markets - who are your customers? Which clients are you targeting, or currently profiting from? Do you know why they choose your agency? Gather insights or data to develop an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) that can help you more effectively target existing or new clients.

  • Brand strategy - are your current activities aligned with your purpose, vision, or goals? Is your value proposition clear to your market? Essentially, what are you offering, why, and what makes you the best at it? Then, ensure all your communications—from your website to your consultants' LinkedIn posts—are promoting this vision.

  • How can you increase revenue? - It sounds straightforward, but there are various ways to be effective in this market. Is it all about acquiring new clients? Or can you better nurturing your existing clients? Would hiring more contractors be beneficial? How about streamlining processes so your consultants can concentrate more on closing deals? Each of these would determine different marketing objectives and campaigns. 

 

  1. Spotting marketing opportunities

After evaluating the internal aspects of your business—such as sales, current marketing metrics (if available), and your brand objectives — it's crucial to explore the external opportunities at your disposal. This requires someone who can identify and apply the most effective, best-practice techniques for your business. For instance:

  • Want to build your business through new clients and inbound leads? Is SEO a powerful channel in your market for generating active leads?

  • Competitors - how are you positioned in the market in comparison - and what can you develop or leverage to gain market share?

  • Which tech is best-in-class in managing candidate experiences? Would a chatbot suit your brand, customers or website? Is your data capable of running automated outreach?

 

  1. Evaluate existing tech and resource

You can't run successful marketing programmes without the right tech, and the right skills. Not forgetting seamless collaboration with consultants too. Considering the marketing goals created in step two and opportunities identified in step three, you'll then need to assess whether you have the right pieces of the puzzle in place in order to deliver.

  • Is your CRM a power or a hindrance?

  • Can your website make you money?

  • Is your tech stack effectively sharing data so you can leverage the opportunities?

And what about marketing skills? Whilst having 'generalist marketers' in your team can address many needs, marketing increasingly relies on specialist skill sets that can often deliver faster and better results, depending on your focus areas . For example:

  • The skills needed for content creation in social media, lead generation and SEO can vary greatly

  • A CRM expert can manage automations, enhance client upselling and ensure your database is clean and profitable

  • Data analysts are increasingly being hired into marketing departments to help businesses leverage tech and AI opportunities

Once you have your existing marketing expertise mapped out - you can identify gaps against your marketing goals and make a plan of action. Do you need to upskill existing team members, hire new ones, or can you outsource your needs to a specialist marketing agency?

 

  1. Plan - now you're ready!

Out of the above will fall your marketing strategy - and budget! And then you're ready to build, execute, and measure your plan.

It's unlikely you'll have the budget and resources to pursue every opportunities or fix all your issues at once. Embrace a growth marketing mindset by launching a few, key programmes that you can test, measure and learn from.

Agree on the appropriate marketing metrics to measure these campaigns in alignment with your marketing and business goals. Decide how often to review them - quarterly is sensible - then stick to it. We all know the recruitment calendar's peaks and troughs, even in a stable market! But at the end of next year - setting your future marketing plans and budgets will be a whole lot easier!

 

If you or your marketing team needs guidance on any of the above, then do please contact me below or on 07843433078.

Here's to a successful 2025!