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Guest Blog post by Terry Boddie, Agency Liaison Director at Marketing Media Management

During your year end review, each aspect of the company’s performance and operations will need to be evaluated, including your online marketing programs and other web-based efforts. Many companies, however, fail to include one very important component in their success – their employees.
Employees must be assessed in order to determine whether you have the right people helping you to obtain your objectives and goals, just like you have to assess and review your online marketing campaigns. These individuals should have a clear understanding of what you expect; there are many times when the managers have expectations that their team members aren’t aware of. If there is an apparent lack of training, think about structuring or finding a training program that will produce the type of employees your company needs. If there are skills that are missing, now is the perfect time to find out what these are and to decide if new team members need to be hired or if current ones should be re-trained. Speaking with your employees will additionally allow you to determine whether your staff is satisfied with their careers and if they are motivated and this will also allow you to address any issues that exist.
Make sure to thank your workers for their efforts throughout the year because these individuals represent the company to your customers even more than your online marketing programs do, and the success of your commercial operations is due in large part to these individuals. Even if you are unable to give your team raises or bonuses, try to recognize them and give them a personal show of gratitude. There would not be a business without your employees, so shake their hands and express your appreciation.

Don’t forget, Saturday November 30th is Small Business Saturday-a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities. We offer many services for small businesses to increase their online visibility, and drive sales. More information about Small Business Saturday can be found here: http://www.sba.gov/about-sba/sba_initiatives/small_business_saturday_2013

Blog post by Farrah Holder, CEO of ThinkNXT Marketing Group

Once a business is established and performing well, you may think it’s fine to just let online marketing operations continue to run the same way. However, a business plan should be thoroughly analyzed at least once a year, and during the year-end review is an ideal time to perform this task. Based on the business’s performance in the last year, there might be several sections that should be refined to prepare for the next year.

The first is to assess the core activities that the business performs. This is where you can sit down and evaluate what your company actually does, what makes it successful. Then evaluate how it can be improved and whether you can launch anything new, including updating an online marketing plan. Within this, the business should determine if there are any new market segments that it should pursue, or any competitors that the business should be worried about.

Next, a business should assess their efficiency, to see if there are any factors holding the business back. Many businesses work in a short term, flexible way, which causes them to not focus on long term growth. Take a look at customers and employees to make sure that what your business provides Is still of value and importance to them.

The business plan update also need to take a look at the financial situation, to make sure there aren’t any gaps or areas that are losing money, and that the business is prepared to grow in the upcoming year.

With the help of the year-end review, a business will be able to make sure their updated business plan and online marketing will give their company a successful start to a new year.