The annual ritual of creating a marketing plan is often the focus of a company’s fourth quarter. However, often all of that strategizing and creating of a plan of action loses its luster by mid-January when the hectic day-to-day activities of starting a new year take priority. Then, sometime around May businesses regain their focus and realize that their marketing plans are off the mark because there have been major changes since the plans were written.

If this sounds familiar, don’t worry. The key is to stay close to your plan, monitor the changes and adjust the activity to accommodate the reality of your company. Because even the best business plans require constant analysis, staying on track with consistent activity requires adjusting the following key changes:

1.   Customer Roster.
Changes in customer activity greatly impact how your company operates, both in terms of revenue and workload. If you plan to spend 60% of your time serving your largest client and 40% marketing for new business, and then in February that big customer goes away, your marketing plan—and a sense of urgency—is going to change quickly. By the same token, you may add two very large customers early in the year that demand more resources than you had planned for originally.

In either case, and in even less drastic customer changes, your plan written months ago cannot now account for the impact on your business. The key is to revisit your marketing plan and determine how these changes influence your ability to meet the goals you set, and reevaluate your tactics/priorities as necessary.

2.   Key Employees.
Marketing plans often are a reflection of a company’s talent, relationships and experience—all assets of the team members. Although staffing changes happen all the time in business, paying attention to how they impact your company is often overlooked or underestimated.

In order to diffuse any possible issues that occur with the loss of a key employee, make sure you understand that person’s relationship with key customers, projects and the personnel they manage. For example, if your marketing manager gives two weeks notice, make sure that you know everything he or she was working on, the progress of their team and the status of key marketing projects. Then, have those responsibilities delegated to other team members, or outside resources, as quickly as possible to avoid any lapse in activity.

3.   Company Structure.
A marketing plan is greatly impacted by changes in a company’s structure, including acquisitions, significant downsizing or expansion, office relocation, or product failure or success, to name a few. Any of these changes will require adjustment to key messages, tactics and the expected impact on your annual plan. The most effective way to handle these situations is to evaluate how the change affects your marketing plan.

Although significant, does the change require an entirely new marketing approach, or does it simply mean altering the tactics of reaching your original goal? In most cases the best solution is to stay focused on the strategy of the original plan while altering your message and delivery. The most important thing to remember is that you need to communicate how the change impacts your customers and your ability to serve their needs.

4.   Industry changes
While the above changes happen inside of your company, outside changes also impact your marketing activities. The key is to understand the importance of being flexible to accommodate industry trends, announcements and breakthroughs, and to know how your company will respond. Since no industry is immune to outside influences, you need to be aware of the changes occurring in your industry and how they are impacting your business.

This awareness includes recognizing changes with the competitive landscape, product development, marketing tactics and overall industry sales trends. The next step is to, you guessed it, look at your marketing plan and determine the adjustments you need to make. You may need to make more of your own announcements, have a presence at a new tradeshow, increase your sales force or change your website. Regardless of the adjustments, you’ll need to fine-tune your plan and your budget to accommodate them.

Change is a constant and inevitable part of business. However, it can also present a great opportunity for your company if you’re able to use your marketing to capitalize on and make the most of those changes. The most important part of keeping your marketing plan on the path to success is to monitor the changes listed above and to be ready to confront them with flexibility and confidence.

If you’re looking for an outside partner to help your marketing accommodate to changes in your business, contact us at 949-916-9120 or success@360businessconsulting.com.