Ready for 2016?

Ok, ok, we know it’s still two months away but 2016 really will be here in a blink. As we work with clients on their 2016 strategy and plans we decided to share our top picks for marketers who want to take charge of the coming new year. We’ve also crowdsourced feedback from our CMO and marketing leaders network on their top tips and will continue to update this post with their thoughts.

1. Update brand messaging and storylines

As executive calendars open up in the down time at the end of year, grab it as an opportunity to refresh your brand messaging and storylines for 2016.

This is best for marketers who are wondering:

• Is our messaging resonating with prospects?
• Do we sound the same as everyone else?
• Do we have the right messaging for our updated business plan?
• Why don’t media, clients, or partners understand our real position in the market?
• Or the dreaded, ah, um, we don’t really have messaging.

We’ve seen too many marketers caught short with outdated messaging and have to scramble to update it — usually as you’re about to enter your busiest time. For this reason, brand messaging and storyline development tops our list.

Make it happen: New messaging is a 4–6 week process with research at the front end, the messaging day in the middle and the reviewing and finalizing messaging at the end.

2. Prioritize customer and competitor insights

Almost all marketing leaders we talk with tell us about their pain in accessing up-to-date customer and competitor data and insights. They know they need it to drive the right strategy but haven’t figured out a consistent and manageable way to get it done. Many say typical methods are too expensive and take too long to compile, making the data out of date when it finally arrives.

We see conquering this challenge as a top priority for marketers who want access to better budgets, more influence with senior leadership and desire the accountability to deliver business results.

Make it happen: Insight reports can be developed in as few as 6 weeks with a final timeline set once the research scope is complete. The first step is to define your goals and the information you want to know. Then construct the method of data collection and data sources and assessment of the data. From there you’ll need a lead to review all the data and find the insights that can be packaged into the story you want to convey and present.

We know that having this data and insights will position you as a company leader and as the go-to source for strategy.

3. Get a digital brand health checkup

Do you know how healthy your digital brand is? If you almost screamed “I’m scared to know!” don’t look away from this one. Your digital brand is made up of your owned digital properties (website, blog, social channels), earned (coverage on media sites, blogs, social engagement) and paid (performance on paid media and paid influencers). And while the state of your digital health is good to know, it’s most powerful when you compare it against competitors. Brand health assessments don’t have to be expensive but do need to be comprehensive with a repeatable methodology that you allow you to pulse your brand each quarter.

Make it happen: A full digital brand health assessment takes 3–4 weeks and requires access to a number of measurement tools. First, you’ll need to pull data for paid, earned and owned for your company and competitors. Then you’ll need to organize and code the data consistently. Finally you’ll look for insights that lead to recommendations that form your strategy.

There is nothing more powerful than knowing your message and understanding your brand, clients and competitors and how you stack up. To activate any of these tips, contact us about getting started.

What The Eastwick network says about getting ready for 2016 — other top tips:

Jennifer Evans, President of B2B News Network has two words to say about top tips for 2016 marketing “content measurement.”

Edgar Baum, CEO of Strata Insights recommends reviewing 2015 to get clear on what worked and what didn’t. Self-reflection is good for personal growth and your company needs it as well. “Set a benchmark for what didn’t work,” he states. “If something worked well, what needs to be replicated — but is the marketplace the same to allow it to be replicated?”

Got a top tip of your own? Tweet us @eastwickcom.