If you have not yet developed a marketing plan for 2026, you are late, but not too late. Here are our recommendations for ensuring your marketing supports your business goals over the year ahead.
Measure: what happened last year?
Understanding what worked in 2025 and what did not is the essential first step in shaping a more effective plan for 2026. Every marketing activity you invested in last year will fall into one of three categories:
- It worked, generating strong leads that you successfully converted.
- It did not work, but mainly because the execution was not strong enough.
- It did not work because it was not the right approach for your target audience.
The data you will need:
- Your CRM or pipeline tracker, with a clear lead source recorded for every enquiry.
- Your accounts data, showing what you spent on marketing in 2025 and what revenue those clients generated.
Your goal at this stage is to identify the channels and activities that delivered results so that you can do more of them in 2026.
What about the marketing that did not work?
If an activity underperformed because it was not implemented well, consider bringing in an expert. They can train you to improve your approach or take the work off your hands entirely. If you are confident the activity was delivered properly but still failed to produce results, the decision is simple: stop doing it.
Freeing up that time and budget allows you to focus on what you know works or to test something new.
Focus: who do you want as new clients in 2026?
Look back at the clients you gained in 2025. Did they match your Ideal Client profile, or did you take on some purely for the cash flow?
If your business has evolved, your target audience may have shifted too. If that is the case, it is time to refresh your Ideal Client profile.
Remember, this profile guides your marketing focus. It does not require you to turn away good clients who fall outside it.
Plan: what are you going to do?
By now, you know what worked last year, so those activities should remain in your plan and may even increase.
Based on the assumption that your marketing will perform similarly to 2025, consider how many additional leads and new clients you will need to reach your 2026 goals.
From here, decide:
- Which activities you will repeat, but with expert support.
- Which new marketing initiatives you will introduce.
Then ask yourself three key questions:
- Do you have the time to manage and deliver this marketing consistently?
- Do you have the skills to ensure it is done well?
- Even if you can do it, is this the best use of your time?
Deliver: get on with it consistently
With your plan in place, the priority is disciplined execution. Consistent marketing activity is essential if you want to achieve your goals for 2026.
If you would like help at any stage, from strategy to hands-on delivery, get in touch. Click here to see the results we achieve for other clients and then click here to book a time to talk.
