It is the first week of the New Year, which means that gyms, weight loss and smoking cessation businesses are booming with new customers that won’t be there by this time next month. Why is that? Because New Year’s resolutions are made with the best of intentions, but are hard to maintain to get the desired results. Every year we are encouraged to make a vow to do something new and better, but the majority of people who make New Year’s resolutions discard the effort by February. According to Forbes Magazine, 80 percent have given up their pursuit of something better by February 1*. Why do we give up so easily? One reason: there is no consistency in the effort it takes to make a change in life.

Now I want to make a comparison to New Year’s resolutions and marketing efforts because I see some of the same principles at work in both of them. If you want your marketing to be effective, it has to be consistent. Why aren’t people looking at your website? Maybe it is because you haven’t invited them to look in a long time or maybe there is noting new to see. When was the last time you changed something so they weren’t looking at the same old thing? Why aren’t they responding to your blog or social media posts? Lack of consistent marketing will yield less than desired results and, in certain situations, be more detrimental to your brand that it is beneficial. Keeping your marketing effectively moving forward takes planning and consistent effort. Do you see the similarity? You can no more expect great results from your sporadic marketing than you can from losing weight on a diet that you stop and start every once in a while throughout the year.

Here are some ways you can make your marketing work for you consistently.

1. Come up with a unified message that is simple and resonates with your target market. Build a campaign around it. Use it consistently in all your marketing mediums.

2. Make a plan and work ahead. Effective marketing typically is working no less than six months ahead. This gives you time to think through your marketing and not be reactionary to market whims.

3. Measure your effectiveness. Keep an eye on how your marketing is working to engage your customers. They will tell you when your campaign is running out of steam.

4. Find a way to keep your brand in front of your target market’s eyes. Make sure you are showing it to them often.

Your best marketing resolution should be to strive to be more consistent. Even a bad looking brand that is pushed consistently on the customer is better than a well-designed brand that shows up every now and then. Consistency is the key.

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* This Is The Month When New Year’s Resolutions Fail—Here’s How To Save Them, by Mark Murphy, Forbes, February 11, 2020.