Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com December 19, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 21 TALKING POINTS What to consider before finalizing your 2017 marketing budget By Danielle M. Cyr T he infamous fourth quarter. The time of year when metrics are scrutinized and budgets are finalized. For small business- es and corporations alike, the key questions are the same — what was the ROI of our market- ing program in 2016 and how will we improve performance in 2017? While the days of long-term planning have come and gone — today, adaptation is key — laying out a marketing roadmap for the year ahead remains crucial for maximizing success. While part of that plan should be some built-in "wiggle room" to seize timely opportunities, all marketing and communications activities should be working in concert to achieve a common set of goals and objectives with measurable outcomes. As you wrap up your planning and budget- ing for the year ahead and prepare to come out of the gate at full speed in January, keep these key criteria top of mind. Success metrics from 2016 A well-executed marketing plan uses data to inform the strategy. Which strate- gies and tactics were most effective? Which campaigns generated the most qualified leads? What products and services that were developed in response to market research and client surveys generated the most rev- enue? Answering these questions allows companies to invest their marketing resourc- es — be they time, talent or dollars — into the communications channels that yield the greatest returns. When evaluating metrics from the past year, it is important to look at quantifiable data as well as anecdotal data from your target audiences. Customer insights are an important piece of the equation — and one that can often uncover marketing opportuni- ties one may not have otherwise considered. What's new? The temptation to become an early adopter can be powerful. To be the first in a class to suc- cessfully leverage a new technology to increase reach, drive sales and/or improve the customer experience can become a proof point that ben- efits a business. Whether you aspire to become more visu- al and harness the power of Instagram or develop a series of informational videos that will benefit consumers across the U.S., it is important to understand both the potential of these opportunities and how they will impact bandwidth and budget. It is important to maintain a consistent pres- ence across all marketing channels as well as high-quality content, so be sure new additions to the marketing arsenal can be successfully sustained should they prove effective. What is(n't) your competition doing? In a competitive business environment, keeping a close eye on the industry landscape is imperative. It's important to understand not only how the competition is marketing themselves, but how and where they aren't marketing themselves. It can be tempting to follow the crowd but posing a competitive threat in the same space isn't always feasible. From budgets to geogra- phy, marketing directly against the competi- tion can be more of an ideal than a reality. Understanding where the opportunities and gaps lay can help to inform how resourc- es are allocated in 2017 and beyond. How is the industry changing? While now is the time to lock down final plans for 2017, keeping an eye on what lays beyond plays an integral role in inform- ing one's marketing plans. Whether it's an impending product launch or regulatory changes that will impact how business is done, laying the groundwork for "what's next" demands time, resources and talent. The fourth quarter of 2017 is not the ideal time to start researching and strategizing for a landmark marketing campaign to be unveiled during the first quarter of 2018. Hence, keep an eye on the future. As businesses work to more closely align their marketing and sales activities, with the goal of generating measurable outcomes from both, it is important to put a framework in place for the year ahead. While there will undoubtedly be timely opportunities for one to seize as the year trudg- es ahead, failure to plan can often mean failure to execute and that can negatively impact a business's bottom line. n Danielle M. Cyr is vice president of integrated for Co-Communications, with offices in Con- necticut and New York. She can be reached at Danielle@cocommunications.com. OTHER VOICES Business trends that will shape 2017 By Pam Butterfield T he next 12 months will be one heck of a ride for Connecticut employers. As Boomers look toward retirement and employers fight for qualified Millennials, I'm expecting a dramatic shift in the way busi- nesses get things done in 2017. Here are some of the trends I expect to see that will change the workplace forever: An increase in the number of workers retiring in 2017 will be a major obstacle to growth for Con- necticut compa- nies. No one needs a crystal ball to know that the number of Boomers retiring within the next few years will continue to escalate. Yet, many growing companies have chosen to ignore that fact and it's going to be a big obstacle for growth sooner than they think. According to the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) 3.6 percent of Connecticut's workforce will retire in 2017. And between 2018 and 2021 an additional 10 percent will join them. That means that in the next five years 13.6 percent of the workforce will be lost to retirement. Almost every small business I've worked with this year has been facing this. Because they were so focused on running their busi- nesses, business owners haven't built a strong middle-management team, something that's especially critical for a company once it gets to 25 or more employees. More small businesses will be up for sale. This is another by-product of the aging of the Boomers. But unlike the first trend, these folks are probably well-aware of what this trend is going to mean if they want to sell their business. So, even though most of them haven't been quite ready to sell and retire up until now, expect a big chunk of them to start the process of selling their businesses. Some will do it in 2017 because they want to get a jump on their fellow Boomer business owners. In Connecticut, it's projected that between 35 and 40 percent of these small business owners plan to sell within the next 10 years. That will mean lots of sellers and not enough buyers. And when those buyers do their due diligence about these companies, many will be turned off. They will find small businesses in which the owners haven't done enough to get ready to get out of the way. The war on talent will heat up like never before. Next year, expect even more employers to be scrambling to fill positions. For the past 10 years, the average tenure for jobs has been 4.6 years. Now, with more Mil- lennials moving into the job market, it's down to two years. Right now, 75 percent of full-time workers are looking for new opportunities and 48 percent of employers haven't been able to fill open positions. They just can't find people with appropriate skills to match these high attrition rates. This war on talent could result in some fairly bad hires and some unwelcome turnover rates. Businesses that don't do a good job recruiting, hiring and on-boarding will see their profits erode, or simply won't last. Employee feedback will be a key to keeping talent. Today's employees want feed- back. Having a well-established feedback sys- tem today is more critical than ever if a com- pany wants to retain their good employees. Employees today need instant feedback. This is particularly important for retaining Millennials. This is a generation that grew up hearing "good job" and they expect regular feedback on a daily or weekly basis. Waiting an entire year to hear how they did during the tradi- tional annual review doesn't work for them. Adapting to the blended workforce will be a must. The blended workforce is one that combines traditional full- and part- time workers with independent contractors. Small businesses will increasingly seek "freelance workers" to join with employees to work on projects. We anticipate that within the next five years, 50 percent of the work- force will be independent contractors in one form or another. That's not a new phenom- enon. Right now 34 percent of Connecticut's workforce is independent contractors. Busi- nesses will have to learn how to deal with the blend between them and traditional workers. Creation of remote workforce policies will become increasingly critical. Remote workforce policies will be a competitive advan- tage in 2017 for companies that need to compete for talent. Employees who are able to work at least one day a week from home report having higher job satisfaction. The technology is here, but employers must have the policies in place to cover these arrangements and they need to understand the legal pitfalls they present. n Pam Butterfield is the founder of Manches- ter-based Business Success Tools, a small business advisory firm. Pam Butterfield Danielle M. Cyr ▶ ▶ While the days of long-term planning have come and gone — today, adaptation is key — laying out a marketing roadmap for the year ahead remains crucial for maximizing success. ▶ ▶ In Connecticut, it's projected that between 35 and 40 percent of … small business owners plan to sell within the next 10 years. That will mean lots of sellers and not enough buyers.

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