Are you about to kick the marketing can down the road to a new calendar year? Are you writing off 2020 and hoping to regroup in 2021? We are nearing the time of year when marketing typically gets put on hold. There is a common mantra that is spoken among business managers this time of year: let’s take a look at marketing after the first of the year.

The reason most business leaders push off any marketing decisions this time of year has to do with the busyness of the end of the year. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the holiday shopping season becomes the thing that holds the attention of most consumers. Unless you are in the retail world, why try to get your marketing message in front of customers? They are preoccupied. If that is the thinking of the majority of your industry, that may be all the more reason to step on the marketing gas pedal instead of the brake. While the competition takes a break from marketing to sip eggnog and decorate the office, you have an opening to get in front of your customers without interference. Any time you can beat the competition to the customer, you should take advantage of it. It is good marketing strategy.

But there is more to marketing than just getting your message in front of your customers. There are plans to be made and implemented. The problem with kicking the marketing can down the road is eventually you will have to make some marketing decisions. Being very busy is not a good reason to put off marketing decisions because every business depends upon marketing doing its job in order to stay in business. Taking a break from decisions that are so crucial to your existence is never a good idea. I like marketing plans that are measured on a regular basis – at least quarterly, but more commonly every month. Here is the truth about marketing: it is a fluid process – especially during this year of pandemic business changes. To do effective marketing, you have to keep a close eye on what your customers are doing and adjust. Taking the last six weeks of the year off is not a good idea for ongoing marketing strategies. If you do so, you will find yourself playing catch up all of January. My advice is to stay the course, even through the holidays.

There is another reason to keep your marketing active during the holiday season. It is a great time to observe what is working and what is not with consumers. The retail consumer market depends upon the holiday season to make ends meet the rest of the year. For that reason, you can get a good idea of what is working in marketing and what is not during the Christmas shopping season. For instance, retailers have always depended upon big sales right after Thanksgiving and offer great deals to get shoppers into their stores to start the holiday shopping season early. This year has caused them to rethink the Black Friday sales model within stores. They are counting on in-person sales to be down and online and pickup sales to be larger than they have ever been. You likely are experiencing some of these same challenges. Observe what is working and what is not with these retailers between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Can you adapt what is working for them into your own marketing, sales, and delivery strategies? Often what the consumer experiences in the retail world becomes the expectation in the business-to-business world also.

Kicking the marketing can down the calendar road to the new year is never a good idea. Deciding you are going to market the day after tomorrow is a recipe for business failure.

There is much to do and much to learn by staying engaged with your marketing during the holiday season.