Spring is a good time to see if your marketing plan and assets need to be freshened up and de-cluttered. Reassess your priorities, take stock of what’s working, and clear out what isn’t.

Start by looking at all the tools you have on hand to get your message and branding out into the market. Are you using them to their potential? Here are a few that should be an integral part of your marketing plan:
•    Your array of services and solutions
•    Industry knowledge of your in-house experts
•    Your reputation and experience
•    Success stories of the customers you serve

Next, look at your marketing plans anew. While vacuums are great for spring cleaning, you shouldn’t create your marketing plan in one. Get feedback from inside and outside your company.

Inside, gather input from a cross-section of your colleagues to accurately assess what is and isn’t working. What marketing channels seem to attract the most attention? What tactics largely fall flat? What seems to motivate people to become a customer?

Include finance in your internal review. Are you devoting the bulk of your marketing efforts to your most profitable offerings? Get beyond the raw sales numbers to prioritize the things that contribute to your bottom line.

Outside, talk to customers, prospects, and even suppliers. Are they aware of all that you do? Are there things about your company that they don’t understand? How do they feel about your company? Do people cling to an old perception that you’d like to change?

It’s worth looking at what other companies in your industry are doing. Is there competitive messaging that you should respond to? Are others using creative tactics that inspire you—tactics that you might be able to adapt?

Finally, take out the trash. As marketers, we’re conditioned to spend our time creating something new. But if we never delete, great messages can get buried in an avalanche of content. Review your website and print collateral to make sure everything is current and relevant.

It’s the season for renewal. Cleaning up your marketing plan now helps your results grow all year. Contact Bill Fahrenwald at James Street for ideas on where to start.