Happy New Year! The start of the year is the perfect time to reflect on your marketing efforts from the previous year, as well as plan for the future. Whether you’re a small business owner handling marketing yourself, or managing a growing company with an outsourced team, now is the time to ask the right questions to ensure you’re set up for success. 2024 was a game-changing year for digital marketing between the rapid advancements in both AI and SEO. In order to stay competitive, it’s crucial to assess and ask key questions to your marketing team to help keep your business on track.
What marketing strategies proved successful in 2024, and where did we face the most challenges?
The first step in setting an effective course for 2025 is understanding where your efforts have been successful and where they fell short. Reviewing your 2024 marketing strategy should include both metrics and qualitative insights:
- What campaigns delivered the best ROI?
- Which channels and platforms generated the most leads or conversions?
- What new tactics or initiatives outperformed expectations?
Just as importantly, look at the areas where your team faced challenges. Did specific campaigns not meet their goals? Were there any bottlenecks or issues with execution? Understanding both successes and setbacks will give you clarity on what needs to be amplified, adjusted, or dropped as you move forward.
What steps have we taken over the past year to maintain and improve our digital presence?
The digital landscape is constantly changing, and it’s crucial to stay proactive. This is especially true as consumers increasingly turn to digital touchpoints to engage with brands. Take the time to evaluate your digital presence:
- What keywords do we rank highest on in searches?
- Have we optimized our website for mobile users?
- Are we effectively utilizing SEO best practices?
Make sure your team can confidently answer these questions with specifics about what was done in 2024 to enhance the brand’s online footprint and reach. Digital presence is more than just having a website or a social media account — it’s about consistency, relevance, and engagement.
What changes are you seeing in the marketing industry and how are we adapting?
Marketing is an industry that is in constant flux. From AI-powered tools and automation, to shifts in consumer behavior and new platforms, the landscape evolves quickly. Asking your marketing team what they’ve observed in terms of industry changes will help you stay ahead of the curve:
- What platforms are our competitors using?
- Are we keeping pace with changing customer preferences?
- How are we using new technologies and trends to stay competitive?
This is a great opportunity to assess whether your marketing strategy is still aligned with the latest industry trends. If the answer is “no,” it’s time to reassess how you approach innovation.
How should we be changing where we spend our budget?
Marketing budgets are rarely static. Allocating resources to the right areas ensures that your efforts have maximum impact. Your marketing team should be able to provide clear insights into how the budget was spent in 2024 and where they recommend shifting resources for 2025:
- Are there underperforming areas that need budget cuts?
- Which high-performing initiatives should receive more investment?
- How can we capitalize on new opportunities without exceeding our budget?
Reallocating your marketing budget might mean putting more funds into channels that delivered strong results, such as influencer marketing, video content, or paid search. It’s also an opportunity to explore new areas that could yield strong results in the coming year, such as emerging platforms or more personalized customer experiences.
How are we using AI to enhance and streamline our marketing operations?
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to revolutionize marketing, from predictive analytics and customer segmentation to content creation and automated workflows. The question is no longer if AI will impact marketing — it’s how you’re using it:
- Where are we able to implement AI?
- How are we leveraging machine learning to better understand customer behavior and improve decision-making?
- Can AI help us streamline our processes and improve efficiency?
Ask your marketing team how they are currently using AI in their day-to-day work and what more can be done. AI is transforming how we engage with customers, deliver content, and analyze results, and it’s critical to harness its full potential as we move into 2025.
At the end of the day, marketing is all about building relationships — not just with customers, but with the teams you trust to represent your brand. The businesses that succeed long term are the ones that continually adapt, evaluate, and innovate. By regularly asking the right questions, you ensure that your marketing strategy remains fresh and effective, and in turn set you up for ongoing growth and success. We believe in building long-term relationships with our clients and supporting them throughout their entire business lifecycle. That means we’re always reevaluating, adjusting, and refining our approach to keep them ahead of the competition. It’s this commitment to continuous improvement that makes us not just a service provider but a trusted partner in their journey.
