10/31/22

Planning Ahead for the New Year

As we approach the end of the year, it’s important to reflect on the role that marketing has played in our businesses — and what role it must play moving forward. Good, strategic marketing is the key to acquiring new business to help drive sales and the overall growth of your company. If you don’t keep current with the latest marketing trends and tools, you’ll find it difficult to compete in today’s marketplace.

At OBI, we pride ourselves on keeping up to date with all current marketing trends. We’re excited to share three marketing insights to keep in mind for the upcoming new year.

Prospecting

Many businesses naturally begin to wind down and focus on the holidays toward the end of the year. But rather than narrowing your focus, this is actually a great time to start prospecting for new clients. Despite the wind-down, this is a time when business owners (or decision-makers) often start thinking about budgets for the year to come and what they can do to either improve their service, increase customers or lower their bottom line.

“The end of the year tends to be a busy time for nearly everyone and every industry. This is no time to rest on your laurels when it comes to acquiring new business, clients or prospects,” says Karisa Malchow, OBI’s VP of client services. “More often, this is the time to ensure that your follow-up and follow-through are tighter than ever. The ones that stay consistent in delivery through this busy time are those that will feel the benefits in the months to come.”

So don’t let the end of the year slow you down. From in-depth customer and market research to new lead gen campaigns, view Q4 as your opportunity to get a jump on the competition and land some new clients for 2023!  

Refreshing Your Brand

The start of a new year can be the perfect time to refresh — or redefine — your brand. Whether you’re a small business or large corporation, keeping current with the latest industry trends can be integral to a successful new year.

“Going into a new year is the perfect time to evaluate whether your brand is still working for you or if it’s time for a refresh,” says Kristen Kelly, associate creative director at OBI. “Marketing strategies are often reset at the start of the year and it’s important to make sure your brand visuals align with your overall goals and keep you current to stand out against your competition.”

And visuals aren’t the only way to refresh a brand. Looking inward can also be a great starting point. Internal research can reveal intricacies of your company that you may not have considered, like knowing how effectively your departments work together or what ideas your frontline staff have for business improvements. These valuable insights can prove to be a great launching point for a new and improved brand identity rooted in solutions.

Transitioning to GA4

One of the tools to watch for in the new year is Google Analytics 4 (GA4), which will fully replace Universal Analytics beginning July 1, 2023. This new version of Google Analytics promises to be a game changer for how companies collect and analyze data. GA4 has several new features that will help companies via better reporting and ad targeting.

“GA4 provides a much more robust way of tracking user interactions on a website, putting more focus on visitor engagement than on metrics alone. Increased engagement is what ultimately makes for a more positive experience for both the client and the brand,” says OBI VP of Strategic Development and Insights Sean Conlin.

“However, since data between the previous version of Google Analytics and GA4 is non-transferable, it is important to install and set up GA4 as soon as possible before the July 1 deadline, in order to collect as much historical data as possible in the new system.” Organizations that fail to implement GA4 in advance of the deadline will face limitations on available data and find themselves playing from behind next summer. Conversely, those businesses that follow Sean’s advice and set up GA4 as soon as possible not only find themselves in a great position next year but also be able to get a head start on making use of the enhanced features offered in GA4.

Are you ready to set your goals for the coming year? Reach out to the brand and marketing specialists at OBI for the strategies and tactics you need in order to meet — and exceed — your 2023 goals.