No matter what the first half of the year has held for you and your business, it’s important to put thought and energy into your strategic planning for Q4 so that you finish the year strong.
“Planning for Q4 is essential because it determines whether you’ll meet your annual targets,” says George Fraguio, Vice President of Bridge Lending at Vaster. “For most businesses, this is also a time that comes with sales surges and opportunities for inventory clearance.”
Without a doubt, the way you end this year will set the tone for next year. This guide will provide you with nine different ways to strategically plan for Q4 so you can end the year strong by meeting your individual and business-wide goals.
1. Review KPIs
By the time you get to Q4, you’ll have plenty of data to reference that will tell you how well your business has done so far. Before you start to plan for the quarter ahead, it’s important to get an idea of where your business currently stands.
“The first KPI to look at is Client Acquisition Cost (CAC). How much are you spending right now to acquire customers? If your budget for acquiring customers has skyrocketed and your customer spending has stayed the same, you want to ensure you are not losing money on servicing your customers,” says Micah Logan, founder of MELD Fitness + Wellness.
You’ll also want to look at KPIs such as employee utilization and sales revenue. Employee utilization will help you assess whether your employees are using their time efficiently. Sales revenue is important to check in on to see if your business is meeting its revenue goals.
2. Recognize Your Dependencies
At the beginning of your Q4 strategic planning, you should also take time to recognize your dependencies. In this context, dependencies refer to all of your key stakeholders.
Graham Kenny, managing director of Strategic Factors, notes, “Step one is to recognize your dependencies, i.e. your key stakeholders. You may think that this will be easy. And in a small business, like a convenience store, it initially is: customers, employees, suppliers, and owners. But then you become aware that some of the employees are also owners, and the complexity grows.”
Once you’ve identified your dependencies, break down the roles that each of them occupy. Keep in mind that some of your stakeholders may occupy multiple roles. This purposeful mapping will allow you to get a holistic picture of your business operations.
3. Make Financial and Budget Adjustments
After reviewing your KPIs and identifying your dependencies, you will be ready to make financial and budget adjustments. Armed with this data, you can make important decisions to protect your business’s financial health.
“Don’t be alarmed if you have to adjust your company’s budget for the last quarter,” advises Greg Hannley, Founder and CEO of Soba Mesa. “It’s always smart to have a more flexible, agile approach to budgeting that allows you to make changes quickly and adapt to the situation at hand.”
To help you optimize your budget, you may want to invest in financial tracking software for your business to gain access to real-time economic data.
4. Refresh Your Marketing Strategy
Because Q4 is such an important time for sales, refreshing your marketing strategy may be an integral part of your strategic planning. Put effort into creating high-quality, eye-catching content that will appeal to your audience during the winter.
“Leverage social media and email marketing to reach as many of your customers and potential customers as possible. Focus on making content that is engaging and clearly calls attention to any product rollouts or sales you are having in Q4,” notes Titania Jordan, CMO of Bark Technologies, a company that specializes in a safer kids phone called the Bark Phone.
To amp up your marketing for Q4, you may also want to consider running targeted ads. These ads, when placed on popular social media sites like Instagram and Facebook, can be incredibly compelling.
5. Optimize Your Website
As previously mentioned, Q4 is a time when sales are usually high and customer traffic is high. To prepare for this time, make sure your website is optimized and designed efficiently.
Justin Soleimani, Co-Founder of Tumble, a company known for their washable rugs says, “Your website reflects who you are as a business and a brand, which is why it should provide customers with the best service possible — especially in Q4. Make sure it’s ready to withstand high traffic and has short loading times on product pages.”
Beyond functionality, consider the look and feel of your website. Your goal should be to simplify your online storefront to provide your customers with the most seamless shopping experience possible.
6. Offer Discounts
Offering discounts may be a wise way to drive sales even higher in Q4. Flash sales, special deals, and limited-time offers may incentivize your customers to purchase more than normal in the last few weeks of the year.
“Offering discounts is an effective way to draw attention to your brand and get a final sales boost at the end of the year,” notes Cody Candee, Founder and CEO of Bounce. “Offering member-specific deals can contribute to brand loyalty and excitement.”
If you offer discounts, advertise them well. Create compelling content that your audience will want to share on their own social media to spread the news about your offerings.
7. Reset Your Goals
With the year coming to a close, you may want to consider resetting your goals. This tip is a straightforward way to reorient and ground your team before this important time.
Griff Duncan, Digital Marketing Manager of CON-CRĒT, a company that specializes in creatine gummies, shares, “Resetting your goals is a way to give your team a boost before Q4 and remind them what they’re working towards. It’s also an opportunity to clearly showcase your adaptability and ability to redirect your efforts in light of the data you’ve received from the first three quarters.”
Make sure your whole team is part of the goal-setting process and knows about your revamped set of goals. Although you can communicate the new goals through an email blast, it may be more impactful to host a team-wide meeting to announce the new goals you’re working towards.
8. Energize Your Team
The increased demand for productivity combined with the holiday season means that Q4 can be a time when members of your team experience serious burnout. It’s crucial to keep them engaged and energized during this time of year while also making choices that prioritize their well-being.
“The end of the year is a great time to uplift the members of your team who have performed well all year long. Throwing a party in their honor, rewarding them with bonuses, and celebrating them in person are all ways to energize your team at this crucial time,” says Kim Wileman, Founder and CEO of No Makeup Makeup.
As much as possible, try to plan out the end of the year so that each of your employees can maintain a healthy work-life balance. Doing so will help them stay focused while they are working and committed to meeting all of the year-end goals.
9. Check-In With Your Customers
There’s no better time to engage with an honest check-in with your customers than at the beginning of Q4. With several important sales surges on the horizon, make sure the people who love your business are still satisfied with the products or services they are receiving.
“Through surveys, social media posts, and email marketing, try to engage your customers during Q4,” advises Kit Ng, General Manager of RedWolf Airsoft, a company that specializes in airsoft guns. “Listen to their feedback and make sure your team is ready to adjust your offerings accordingly.”
You can always incentivize feedback opportunities to make them more alluring for customers. Throw in a raffle ticket or a small, complimentary gift for customers who take the time to give you feedback, reinforcing the idea that they are at the heart of your business’s mission and their voices matter.
10. Stay Committed To Continuous Improvement
After implementing your Q4 strategic plan, stay attuned to how it works, find what elements need to be adjusted, and be prepared to make adjustments where necessary. Make sure to keep communication channels open with all of your stakeholders so that you are always in a position to innovate and improve your business.
Dovas Zakas, CMO & Cofounder of The Pets Table says, “Unfortunately, there’s no way of knowing how your Q4 plan will work until you implement it. Everything you do to drive revenue and keep your customers happy is an experiment, which means you have to carefully monitor the results.”
Keep in mind that your plan should be subject to change based on insights provided by your stakeholders. Make sure you prepare your team to be agile and ready to make changes throughout the quarter.
Make Q4 Your Best Yet With Strategic Planning
There’s no reason why Q4 can’t be your most successful quarter of the year. All you need to do to make this a reality is lay out a thoughtful, data-driven plan.
“Q4 is one of the most important times of the year for businesses,” notes Ruslan Polinovsky, Sr. Director of Marketing at LUSA. “Strategic planning before Q4 is imperative because it will set the tone for the end of the year and, equally as important, put your business in a good position going into the next year.”
By using the strategies outlined in this guide, you’ll be able to create a highly effective Q4 plan. Now, you can close out the year strong and get your team excited for what comes next.
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