Retail marketing and design posts
What if our goals were just dreams, with a deadline?
With each new year, there are new resolutions, new promises and new goals being made. However how many of us make goals and find themselves not achieving those goals, not seeing it through or changing their goals too often*. (*Waves both hands frantically in the air). What was getting in the way of achieving the actual goal?
What you will get from this article:
- Learn why goal setting is important
- Understand how to create goals that inspire you
- Tips on transforming your goals from concept to reality
- Access to a strategy workshop with Desketing
Learn about our secrets and tips on how to set goals and create a future for your retail business.
#1 Goals set the benchmark for success.
Why is goal setting important to your retail business?
Goal setting is not a simple case of saying or writing down, ‘I want to make a million-dollar business’. The definition of goal setting is the process of identifying what you want to accomplish and creating measurable objectives and timeframes to achieve them.
Sitting down with our retail clients, the importance of goal setting becomes so much clearer, because without goals and objectives, how do you determine success?
Not setting goals is a surefire way of avoiding disappointment over unrealistic goals, but setting goals is also a surefire way of discovering a sense of achievement.
Top things to remember
- Goal setting is the vehicle that will drive you to your desired destination.
- Goal setting keeps you accountable
- Goal setting will help you overcome procrastination
- If you don’t know what you want to achieve, you can’t create an action plan to get there
#2 Create important, motivating, compelling, inspiring, get out of bed goals.
Set effective goals that are important to you and offer you value in achieving them. If you have little interest in the outcome, then chances are you won’t do the work to make it happen. This is particularly critical for retail business and franchises, because setting goals require commitment, feeling a sense of urgency and a must-have attitude. If you don’t have the motivation, then you’ll do what most of us do, and end up putting off what you need to do to make the goal a reality. We’re likely to do the work and put in the time and energy when the end goal in sight excites us and is the driving force behind our actions.
Let’s change our mindset when it comes to goals. What if our goals, were just dreams, with a deadline? Then all we have to do now is create an action plan to achieve.
#3 Transform your goals from concept to reality
SMART goals stand for smart, measurable, relevant and time-bound. Transforming your goals from concept to reality involves well defined, clear and real goals.
Be sure to set precise amounts and dates so that we have that benchmark to measure. They need to be real goals because there’s no point in setting goals that will lead to demotivation and tear down your confidence. Setting realistic goals will give you and your team a sense of achievement.
#4 Progress equals happiness
Don’t underestimate the power of small wins. Setting progressive goals that allow you to feel like little achievements help us to move on to bigger achievements. Sometimes it’s the little motivations, that lead to small goals, which lead to progress which leads to leading a team that feels fulfilled and happy.
#5 Determine Your Process
You have to understand the difference between goals and process. Think of yourself as a small rowboat. Your goals are the rudder on the boat and give you direction. If you commit, it keeps you forward, and if you chop and change between goals, then you’ll find yourself in circles.
The oars are your process and determine your success.
While goals set the direction, the process determines your progress. And as we mentioned before progress equals happiness.
You’ll get nowhere from just holding onto the rudder, you have to row.
If you’re a runner and your goal is to run a marathon. Then your process is an 8-week training schedule.
If you’re the owner of a retail business and your goal is to build a million-dollar business. Then your process is a sales and marketing plan.
Click here to book a goal-setting strategy with Desketing.
#6 Set daily reminders
Transform your goal into a reality involves writing it down, telling people, telling yourself every single day! Whether that includes putting your goals around your office, on your walls, desktop computer screen, bathroom mirror, Trello, Skype, Whatsapp, email and calendar alerts. Setting constant reminders keeps you motivated, helps you visualise and understand why you’re doing this.
#7 Do you have the skills or resources to make it happen?
Goal setting is not just about choosing the rewards, but also accepting the need for the skills and resources required to make them happen.
For retail businesses, a strategic sales and marketing plan involves a detailed action plan that includes regular marketing campaigns and a rollout including signage, posters, email marketing, mobile marketing, Google Ads and social media marketing.
Do you have the skills or resources to make it happen? Schedule a meeting with our team of design and marketing experts to keep you focused.
Are you ready to take the next step and learn how to set business goals you will achieve?
Ask us about Goal-Setting Strategy Workshop
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Behind every great franchise brand, is one key element and that is the power of marketing to support it.
Franchise Marketing is no easy feat. For franchisors and franchisees, it takes a level of dedication, passion and vision to strengthen the brand and see yearly profitability. So why do some franchises flourish and others fail?
We delve into the complexities and challenges that a franchise faces and provide seven results-driven and effective franchise marketing tips to help franchisors and franchisees to see consistent growth and build their brand power.
Tip #1 Franchisees feedback is invaluable
With franchises, stakeholder management is key here, particularly with franchisees. Make sure that you involve franchisees at every step of the process particularly if want their marketing support.
Getting the franchisees on board, will let them feel involved and let them feel and know that their opinions matter. It’s important to understand that their feedback is important, particularly as they interact the most with their customers. By giving franchisees a sense of ownership, they’ll feel like they own the brand and want to support the marketing behind it.
Tip #2 Tailor the Marketing for the Locals
There isn’t a one size fit all model when it comes to franchise marketing. Talk to franchisees about local area marketing to support the national marketing campaign, it’s important that the key marketing messages are being communicated to your audience effectively and accordingly to the demographics and behaviour of your audience. Give franchisees the opportunity to contribute to local area marketing such as local sporting organisations or charities, advertising in local newspapers, competitions, customer referral incentives and local billboards.
Tip #3 Offer Guidance, Not Assumptions
If you’re looking for clear and measurable results, it’s vital that franchisees are doing everything correctly to deliver the campaign. Communicate with franchisees on the requirements and processes so that they are able to communicate effectively with their team. Offer ongoing guidance and frequent communication and the results will speak for themselves.
Tip #5 Attract the Right Franchisees
One of the key challenges of any growing franchise is attracting the right franchisees. Prospective franchisees will gravitate towards franchise brands that provide them with quality information that is easy to digest and clear.
There are plenty of ways that franchisors can help to provide this information and to attract quality prospective franchisees and these include:
- Provide downloadable online information kits;
- Attract and qualify prospects by providing an online FAQ section;
- Keep your listings on franchise business websites up to date with current information and make sure that they’re optimised with the right keywords;
- Update your website often and optimise your web pages for the right keywords so they appear on Google searches;
- Use social media channels such as LinkedIn and Facebook to advertise business opportunities.
Tip #6 Behind a Strong Brand is Consistent Marketing
A key difficulty for franchises is ensuring that a consistent message is being to prospective and current customers from the franchisor and all the franchisees. Ensure that franchisees understand the importance of message consistency by communicating clearly defined messages, goals and objectives. Franchisors need to protect their brand by creating strict rules about how the trademarks are used and also with the creation of advertising and marketing materials.
Tip #7 Build Your Brand With a Comprehensive Marketing Plan
Franchisors and their Franchise Brand will benefit greatly by developing and executing a comprehensive marketing plan for the overall franchise. Commitment and execution are key here, while also having the right team with the right skill level to deliver clear and measurable results.
The Marketing Plan should consist of a promotional schedule that includes clearly defined messages and goals along with the scheduled advertising campaigns. Different promotional channels can be implemented including tv and radio commercials, social media, public relations, direct mail and digital marketing. A successful campaign is one that is results driven and measurable and focused on key goals such as brand awareness, increasing foot traffic to stores, increasing leads and enquiries.
Desketing are experienced and trusted franchise marketing and design specialists.
Having worked with variously sized franchises, Desketing is experienced to help nurture and consult franchises on marketing campaigns and provide marketing and design support for point of sale materials including menus, posters and displays, catalogues brochures and other print material.
Desketing is furthermore helping franchisors to integrate digital marketing into their overall strategy for example through franchise website development, maintenance, search engine optimisation, digital advertising including Google Adwords and Display Advertising and social media advertising.
You can speak to a Desketing design and marketing specialist by calling 07 3220 3962 or request a callback.
