Why You Need To Update Your Marketing Plan

I am about to go through a major change (not THAT change, but you’re close). The last of our four children will soon be off to college–leaving the two of us kicking around in a big house, filled with empty rooms. So now what?! Well, to answer that question, I did what any other tech-savvy mom would do… I Googled it, of course!

The first article I found, “Six steps to getting over an empty nest“ was somewhat helpful. Try something new, re-establish old friendships, travel.. it’s all good, they say. But the reality is that THIS change–from being an in-your-face “you need to eat more vegetables or you’ll get scurvy” mom to a “let’s Skype on Thursday nights at 9 pm” mom is really scary.

One would think that I’d be well versed on this, having helped a kid or two move into a new place over the years, but there’s something so final about it being this kid–this last one. I find myself butting up against the change. Scoffing at things I read. I don’t want to learn how to play the piano or take a pottery class, I want to keep doing what I’ve been doing for the last few decades. Why does it have to change?!

And the answer is sort of mom-like…

Q: Why does it have to change.

A: Just because.

And with this answer I know I have to create a plan, because this change is coming… fast.  But I don’t have to take fencing classes or plan a trip to Brazil. My plan will be one that works for me.

The same is true of your marketing plans. When you developed your online marketing strategy a few years back (that WAS you, right?), I’m sure you thought you were done, didn’t you. You spent hours laboring over it, either on your own, or with an agency to help out — and when that baby was done, you were ready to roll. You set it on auto-pilot, and off you went. And then, things changed. And then changed again.

Why? Just because.

Just when you got a handle on SEO, it changed. 

You finally understood how Facebook’s algorithm worked (sort of), and they made a change. And then another.

And you just got used to where all the buttons and links were on your Twitter Page and… they made a change.

Now, content marketing is the new buzz word (even though writing and publishing quality content is NOT new) and you’re being inundated with messages like “think like a publisher!”

I could go on and on about how fast things change in the world of online marketing, but you see where I’m going with this. You can sit back and gripe about the changes–or, like me, pretend that you’re immune to them–or you can revamp your marketing plan to capitalize on new trends. And sure, do it your way — create something that fits your brand, today.

It really is a case of “you snooze, you lose” when it comes to embracing all the unique ways you can communicate with your customers.

And why do you have to embrace these changes. The answer, you well know is this: Just because. And I’ll add… if you don’t…you can bet your competitor will.

What are you doing to roll with the changes?