Why a Marketing Calendar Helps Your Business

If all other aspects of a business are planned, such as finances, staffing and sales, why wouldn’t marketing be planned as well? This is the exact reason why your business need a marketing calendar.

Small enterprises that wish to compete with their larger counterparts should see how their marketing initiatives are being planned. Knowing what campaigns, articles, and social media posts are being sent out improves the efficiency of any marketing strategy.

To help convince you, take a look at why your business could use a marketing calendar.

Why businesses need a marketing calendar

Businesses that are launching new products carefully construct plans to introduce their ventures. Creating a marketing calendar is often the first step in successfully cultivating a proper strategy.

When businesses are consistent with their tactics, customers can gain trust in a brand. Utilizing a calendar gives enterprises an opportunity to manage a budget. By ensuring that cash flow is secure, businesses can properly allocate their funds.

A marketing calendar also ensures that companies staff accordingly. Partners and employees should know when important fundraising opportunities or after-hours events are happening in order to plan their schedules.

Entrepreneurship In A Box says, “A marketing calendar is a helpful tool you can use to help you in charting your company’s marketing efforts. Not only that, but also the results so you will stay focused on all planned marketing activities during the year.”

A properly prepared marketing calendar also gives businesses an opportunity to set goals. When printed calendars are distributed at the beginning of the year, entrepreneurs can go over what each member of the organization’s target is for the year. Distributing a binder with printed materials, such as flyers, sign-in sheets and certificates, in addition to a calendar can help staff stay organized.

How to create a marketing calendar

Businesses should first reach out to existing clients to find out their preferences. Customers are often the best sources of feedback. The next step is to schedule holidays, vacations and other preexisting obligations.

Communicating with staff and checking frequently with the status of each goal is crucial. “Remember to be flexible when creating your calendar. It’s really about what works for you,” says Laura Lake of The Balance Small Business.

Ensuring that the entire organization understands their responsibilities will create for smoother execution of targeted strategies. Overall, be sure to create a marketing strategy with set dates and targets to meet within specific time frames. This will provide structure to your campaigns and the materials you’ve prepared for them.

Although the creation of a marketing calendar may seem daunting, its existence will improve your marketing strategy. Focus on what you want to deliver to your audience and space out your tasks to keep efficient. This will ensure that your team stays on-task and delivers the correct messaging at the right time.

Need help creating marketing materials? Check out our Free Guide.