Your 2019 Business Development Plan (aka a marketing plan) should be finalized by December 1, 2018. Why? Now is the time to reflect on what has worked in the past year, what didn’t work, and why. And now is the time to set objectives for what you want to accomplish throughout the coming year, how to achieve those objectives and how to measure success.

Clients often tell us that the most daunting part of a business development plan is where to begin. Here are a few broad guidelines to follow.

Set Goals. The business development plan should align with and support your company’s business goals for the year.

Think Strategically. Don’t create it in isolation. Look at how marketing, sales, customer and user experiences fit into the big picture. Every department—from CSRs to Accounting to Techs—has a role.

Be Specific and Measurable. You must have specific, measurable objectives. Are you rolling out a new product and when? Are you trying to generate a certain number of sales leads or reach a better customer service score than last year’s? And what will success look like? What metrics will demonstrate that you’ve hit your objectives?

Get Buy-In. Again, plans made in a vacuum are not successful. Show your plans to internal stakeholders and get some feedback and buy-in from your colleagues.

And now you should get started–time is flying!

Look for our next article, 2019 Business Development Plans –Tips on the Nitty Gritty      

 

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Marketing. If you are looking to partner across marketing disciplines with a certified Small Business, please contact Tanya Sullivan at tsullivan@plusonestrategy.com to explore possibilities.

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