2021 comes to a close in less than 2 months. Our team agrees that this year flew by in the blink of an eye! Now businesses spending Q4 focusing on marketing and brand development only have a couple months left to work on their 2022 business strategy.
Ruben Digital works diligently to help businesses of all sizes effectively plan and achieve their quarterly and annual marketing goals. The best way to prepare for a successful future is to review past strengths and weaknesses. Now is the time to assess where your business needs to grow and evolve for the coming year. Let us help you create a detailed game plan to best serve you and your clients.
Here are some helpful tips to get your SMB started on a successful business strategy for next year…
📊 Analyze Key Data
Data is meaningless unless you take the time to analyze it and put your findings to use! But where should you start?
We recommend starting by meeting with your staff. Schedule a team meeting specifically with the purpose for an end of year review. Have everyone come prepared to share their insights on the past year of work. Reviewing the past three quarters all together is a great way to build team morale and show your staff that their opinions matter. At RD, we call this initial team review a “light audit”. A good way to keep your review meeting on track is to send questions to the team prior to the meeting, requesting they review and reflect on them before attending the meeting so everyone’s time is used mindfully.
A few questions to consider:
- What do you think are our company’s greatest strengths? How can we continue to nurture them?
- How can we connect with potential clients in a positive way?
- What was most challenging about 2021? What did these challenges teach you?
Take notes of all the great ideas everyone brings to the table. Use this feedback to start curating your 2022 goals. End your year in a tangible way by being on the same page with your coworkers!
“According to a poll, the dominant emotion small business owners are feeling about their current operating strategy is “hopeful” (44%). Look at the last list of goals you made for 2021. Take the pandemic into consideration as you may have to revise your strategies and measures. Don’t ignore the books. Review cash flow, debt obligations, department budgets, and payroll. Which projects provided the biggest return on investment (ROI) for your business this year? Which ones went down in flames.” SmartBiz
💻 Review Your Company Website
When a person Googles your company name, the first thing to pop up (most likely if your SEO is set up correctly) is your website. Similar to meeting people for the first time, first impressions can make or break potential relationships!
Every time someone views your website, consider it an interview for your product or service. RD regularly conducts website audits for our business and offers this service for our clients, especially before taking on a new web design project. Is your website representing your business accurately? Since you can’t be there to explain every aspect of what your business does, your website needs to be the best reflection of your brand.
Use these tips to determine if your company website is up to date and showcasing your business properly…
- Images: Are the pictures of your staff dated, or even an accurate reflection of your current team? A quick fix is to request updated headshots from team members. If a team member is no longer with your company, be mindful to remove their image and bio.
- Grammar: Something as simple as spelling and grammar can have a massive impact on how your brand is viewed! It can make or break professional opinions of your business. Grammar errors cause a website to look sloppy and unprofessional. This is an easy fix!
- Aesthetic: Does your overall website aesthetic reflect your company’s voice and culture? Poor design, having too many graphics, and unsightly color choices are easy ways to distract visitors and push them away. Make it easy for your potential clients and customers to navigate through your site.
- Testimonials: Customers or clients researching your brand want to get insight on products and services. The best way to do this is by certifying your business with client reviews! Add recent reviews from past clients to highlight satisfied customers.
Looking for prime examples of user-friendly websites? Get inspiration from our client portfolio!
📱 Social Media Audit
So many platforms (such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook) constantly demand the attention of consumers. Social media has become a very saturated outlet. Creating content that stands out and catches the attention of users is more challenging than ever. While it can be difficult to use social media successfully, being active in this virtual space is vital for survival and shouldn’t be ignored!
“Social media proves to be a powerful tool when it comes to growing brand awareness. Besides promoting your small business, social media can help you meet several business goals: attracting new customers, keeping costs down, and increasing sales.” Vistaprint
Fundera shares small business marketing statistics & trends:
- 41% of local businesses depend on social media to drive revenue.
- 74% of consumers rely on social media to guide purchasing decisions.
- 96% of small businesses say they use social media in their marketing strategy.
- 81% of shoppers research online before purchasing.
- 60% of consumers begin their product research with a search engine before heading to a particular website.
Clearly, social media is a wonderful marketing tool when carried out thoughtfully. When social media is used effectively, you can see measurable results within weeks or months. But how can you tell if these platforms are creating tangible results for your business, such as getting phone calls, website visits, and other forms of customer engagement? Using tools such as Google Analytics or Hootsuite Analyze are quick ways to review social analytics.
Even with these tools available, we highly recommend that all SMBs hire a social media specialist or service provider (like Ruben Digital) who knows how to review this data and then create a smart social media strategy around it!
Curious about the many services we offer? Find out what Ruben Digital can do for your business!
💬 See what our clients have to say about working with Ruben Digital…
“My sincere thanks to Ruben Digital. I was up late last night like a kid on Christmas waiting for the new site to go live! It’s been a big undertaking and it’s wonderful to see it come to fruition. It’s not often you go from point A to Z on a large project as smoothly as we did. Your talent, creativity and can-do attitude will continue to serve you well.” – Danielle Reidl, Hodell-Natco
“I am thrilled with our new website. RCA (Resource Commercial Advisors) does so many things well for our clients, and now it is easy to showcase these capabilities to our clients. Nate did a great job!” – Ron Roberti, Resource Commerical Advisors
“Last year, Nate listened to our goals for C.I.T.Y. of Support and came up with a website that blew away our expectations. As a non-profit, we were cautious taking the risk. I am so glad we did! Our organization has grown tremendously over the last year and I am glad we partnered with Ruben Digital.” – Beth Deiter, C.I.T.Y. of Support
“With the help of Nate and his team, we have the capability to shift all our transactions, sign up forms, communication, and general info to a fully online platform. The amount of personalization and custom options Nate offers his clients is unparalleled and makes our website a one of a kind work of art.” – Eric Levine, Midwest Goalie Academy