If I had a dollar for every time somebody has told me recently, “I don’t know where this year went!” … well, I think you where I'm going with this.

The reality that this year is almost over and a new one is already on its way leaves me thinking where do I begin? Who else is feeling just a little overwhelmed and a whole lot unprepared?

But amidst the Christmas parties, gift shopping and tree decorating, now is actually the perfect time to prepare your business and brand for an incredible new year.

Yep! While the year is slowing down, it’s a great time to turn inwards to explore, plan and prepare for an abundant year ahead.

This is what I’ll be doing to get ready for an incredible 2019.

Four ways to prepare your brand for success in the new year

Take stock of where you’re at.

This is a great opportunity to slow down, take a breath and review where you’re at in your business.

Some good questions to ask yourself are:

• What went well this year?
• Do you think could have gone better this year?
• Did you really enjoy about your business this year?
• What challenges did you face this year? What knowledge and wisdom can you take away from them?
• Does your brand still feel like you? Is it still aligned with your business?
• What goals, tasks and jobs have been pushed to the backburner or delayed?
• You can use these questions (and the answers you come up with!) to drive your planning and goal-setting for the new year.

Revisit your target market.

With the wisdom of another year behind you, now is the perfect time to take a moment to explore whether the customers you’re currently attracting are, in fact, your target market and the people that you want to attract.

Think about:

• Who you really enjoyed working with this year (and why).
• Who you didn’t enjoy working with this year (and why).

Then compare those answers with your target market to ensure they’re still aligned with who you want to work with (and who wants to work with you).

By fine-tuning your target market, you’ll discover that your communications, marketing and even visual presence are SO much more powerful, because it’ll be like you’re speaking directly to them.

#genius

Review your colour clarity.

I’ve spoken about this before, but colour theory is a real thing … and a fun thing, at that! If you’ve never heard of colour theory before, it’s the idea that the use of colour can influence how your audience feels and perceives your brand.

You’ll want to make sure that the colours you’re using are still evoking the right emotion and communicating the right message to your audience (especially if that audience has changed).

Get on top of your marketing.

Is “make more money” on your to-do list for next year? High-five, babe! Let’s make it happen for you.

To begin with, have a think about how you’re attracting people to your business and website. And once they’re there, how you’re going to convert them from browser to buyer.

Turn this into a plan that you can follow consistently to get a steady stream of humans through your digital doors. And once you do, you’ll be well on the way to achieving your income goals next year!

And if you haven’t jumped on the e-mail marketing trend yet, now is the time. E-mail marketing has an average return on investment of $38 for every $1 spent. It's an easy, effective and budget-friendly way to connect and convert your target market.

And when you’re done preparing for next year, make sure you take some time out to refresh and recharge after an incredible year doing incredible things!

xx