At the start (or the end) of each calendar quarter, I get the same question over and over again.
"How can I make the next quarter better than the past one? How can I hit my revenue goals for this year?"
While 90 days may seem like a short term planning period, if you already have a plan for the year, then your 90 day goals are easy enough to determine. You just have to figure out the next piece to focus on for the next 3 months.
But if you don’t already have a 12-month plan, then that is your first step.
And the 12-month plan is just a targeted part of the 3-year plan.
LONG TERM VERSUS SHORT TERM STRATEGIC PLANNING
What is the difference between long-term planning and short-term planning? There are some businesses that don’t consider 12 months as long-term and instead count 12 months as short-term. There are some businesses that view ten or five years as long-term planning, and count one to three years as short-term planning.
My business is in a rapidly-changing industry. I’m an online entrepreneur, which means that I gain the majority of my business through digital marketing. And I teach my clients digital marketing. The online space changes rapidly. For that reason, I need to be able to quickly adapt. I would consider one year in the online space as long-term. For example, the primary tool that I use right now in order to reach my audience is social media. If I’m not able to use social media my business structure could potentially change.
With that in mind, I’m going to share with you a few things that I use in order to create my own 12-month and 90-day marketing plans.
UNDERSTANDING STRATEGY VERSUS TACTICS
Let’s begin with strategy versus tactics. Strategy encompasses the big picture. The big picture includes considerations like revenue projections, reach and influence, and overall growth.
Your long term strategy has to have specific numbers attached to each objective. You should be able to answer the questions; how much do I want to earn, how many people do I need to reach, and what percentage growth do I want to attain in each of my important categories? We call these important categories key performance indicators or KPIs.
Tactics are the actions we take in order to make the strategy work. Examples include doing a live stream, hosting a webinar, or going to a networking event. Each tactic should tie into your overall strategy.