With a new year upon us, it’s time to reflect on our wins and lessons. What can we learn from last year? Look at your DATA whenever possible; don’t guess!
What are your top selling products and services? Why do you think that is? Can you sell similar products or add-ons? For example, if you sell landscaping, can you add potted plants for the porch and patio? If you sell physical training, can you add a monthly mindfulness webinar? If your monthly meal delivery plan membership is $450 per month, could you create a higher-profit vegan monthly meal plan membership for $425 per month?
Is it time to raise your prices? Why or why not? Many customers expect prices to rise at or near the beginning of a calendar year.
Who were your best ten clients last year, and can you see any demographic or sales patterns that can be applied to your marketing and product development? What do those ten buyers have in common? Does that tell you anything about the type of photography or messaging that works best for you? For example, if you own a nursery and your MailChimp data tells you that your biggest spenders are males over 60 years old, you might want to tailor some or all of your marketing photography to that market. Likewise, if potted herbs are your best sellers, experiment with emailing recipes and offering more varieties of herbs. If you’re a real estate agent and your top clients were referrals from building managers, start developing a system to build relationships with building managers.
What did you spend on marketing, and how does that compare to your revenue? Is it time to revisit your marketing budget, or to experiment with new kinds of marketing? A/B test LinkedIn ads vs Twitter ads, for example. Try emotion-based messaging vs logic-based messaging. Try group psychology: more than half of your neighbors are now enjoying the benefits of solar power. SAT tutoring is on the rise and to compete, it’s time to sign up for weekly vocabulary reviews. Use scarcity: only four spots left on our Sayulita yoga retreat!
“As a general rule, small businesses with revenues less than $5 million should allocate 7-8 percent of their revenues to marketing.” This percentage is based on companies that have margins in the 10-12 percent range (after expenses).”
U.S. Small Business Administration
Did you have an abandoned-cart problem last year? If so, experiment with an abandoned cart pop-up, and an abandoned cart follow-up email with a special offer. Remove any large, eye-catching promo code prompts from the checkout process…they tell new clients that they aren’t getting the best deal. “Instead of using a loud and colourful ‘Promo Box’, a subtle expandable link with less visibility throughout the checkout experience works like a treat. A subtler promo box allows visitors to flow through the customer checkout without having any second thoughts on leaving the site in search for a code,” per Brad Ward on SaleCycle.com.
What can we learn from last year about your top sources of website traffic, and how can you build on that momentum? Log into Google Analytics (now on version four, aka GA4), and look at the Acquisition section. This section will also tell you what part of your site customers tend to view last, which could be helpful in determining where you’re losing shoppers.
What staffing decisions need to be addressed? Is it time to change a vendor or add one? Is it time to change anyone from part-time to full-time? What did you learn last year about where your own skills fall short, and how can you add someone to help?