It’s not even December, but doesn’t it feel like Christmas is already in full swing? And what happened to Thanksgiving?

Though the sugarplums dancing in our heads are nice, it all serves as a stark reminder that the year is almost over—and that your marketing and public relations planning for 2018 should be already be completed.

Are you ready?

Ready or not, 2018 is almost here

One reason marketers have to plan so far ahead is that competition for attention has ramped up to never-before-seen levels. And it’s not just your competitors with whom you are battling for attention.

Consumers are bombarded with more advertisements and messages than ever before.

The “white noise” that surrounds communications today means that marketing planning, and the messages that characterize your marketing effort, need to be carefully crafted to align with what you want to accomplish and what your customers want.

You need to both formulate and prioritize your objectives, narrowing them down to what is affordable, practical and realistically, possible. Once you have nailed down your objectives and envisioned the strategies that will serve as the pathways to realizing them, then (and only then), will the tactics you will employ become clear.

This approach may sound over simplified, but defining objectives, strategies, and tactics is at the heart of every sound marketing plan…and the public relations plan that supplements it.

Your marketing has to put your customer first

Your customer must be the ultimate focus your marketing plan. After all, they are who will be looking at your communications and asking “What’s in it for me?”

Asking questions about you, of course, assumes that your targets pay attention to your messages. Taken one step further, that means you need to know what your customers want and craft communications that clearly state how your product, service, or idea will benefit them.

And that’s where marketing public relations, the style of public relations we practice at Wellons Communications, enters the picture.

We believe PR exists solely to sell products, services, and ideas

We believe whatever creative ideas you develop have to arrive at the intersection of connecting with your audience while achieving your goals. But creative ideas are more than headlines, slogans, and catchy graphics.

Great creative ideas are most often based on sound research.

That doesn’t mean commissioning a costly study by a think tank…research can be informal and based on common sense, but whatever research you have that defines the wants and needs of your target audience will lead to maximizing your chances of success.

At Wellons Communications, we start with whatever research is available to contribute to strategic approaches like increasing awareness, boosting social media following, or generating press coverage—all of which are eventually aimed at sales results.

Learn more about how we practice marketing communications, not just public relations. Call me at 407-339-0879 or email me at will@wellonscommunications.com and see how we can give your 2018 marketing plans a boost.