Believe it or not, we are less than three weeks away from 2025. If you are like me, I wonder where all the time has gone in 2024, but the reality is, the new year is knocking on the door. Are you ready for it in your business?

By all indications, we are poised for an economic rebound in the new year. That’s good news for business. What plans have you made to be ready to move forward when the gears of commerce start to move at a quickened pace? In particular, what are you doing with your marketing to get ready for the new year? Here are some ways you can get ready now.

Get ready for your competition

Whenever there is an economic boon, there is also competition for customers. If money starts to flow again, there will be other businesses that will be after the same dollars you are striving for. It is time to define and promote your competitive edge in the marketplace. Where do you beat your competition to the benefit of your customers? Emphasize this in your marketing now.

Promote the new thing

What’s new in your offerings to your customers? In a down economy, people make purchases in maintenance mode – just sell them what they need to get by. In an economy that is gaining speed, new and innovative goods and services sell very well. There is a shift in the way buyers think. Your marketing should reflect what is happening in the mind of the buyer. What if you don’t have anything new to offer your customers? It may be time to repackage and rebrand your products. Give it a fresh look for a new economic outlook.

Make sure your sales are in sync with your marketing

Another key to your success in ramping up for more business is the synergy between marketing and sales. Too often these two divisions do their work without any coordination between the two. This is not good, especially when there is more business to be had. Schedule your marketing. Make sure your sales staff is poised to respond to the questions customers will ask when they see your marketing. Are there key times when your sales staff will be in front of customers? Your marketing plan should take into account these particular times and work in sync with them. Otherwise, you will find that the response you get from your marketing will overwhelm your sales staff or your sales staff will be off trying to sell X when you are promoting Y.