For many small business owners, good intentions for promoting the business go right out the window when things get hectic. Creating a marketing calendar will improve how you plan, execute, and evaluate your marketing activities. It is an important piece of your marketing organization chart.

Outlining a marketing calendar upfront helps you remain true to your goals. In the end, no matter how you choose to promote your business – a well-organized calendar saves time, lowers costs, and increases your campaign’s effectiveness.

Why Create a Marketing Calendar?

Your marketing calendar helps prepare for the future by examining the past. In addition to outlining marketing programs at the beginning of the year, it is used to capture actual performance in comparison to established goals.

This collection of information is an integral part of the evaluation process at the end of the fiscal year.

It provides the opportunity to conduct an objective assessment of which efforts should be repeated and which should be eliminated.

Setting Up Your Marketing Calendar

 Goals – Your goal is the answer to the question, why are you investing in a particular marketing activity. Measurable objectives; sales, leads, calls, typically set to be achieved within a specific timeframe.

Activities – Briefly describe the marketing activity you will be conducting and when. In any given month you should not be relying on just one program, but a series of inter-related promotions to drive traffic to your business.

Budget – It’s most common to divide your annual budget monthly or quarterly. Ideally, the total expenses of all marketing activities should not exceed your budget.

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Results– After each program runs its course, it is important to capture the results. Did the advertisement perform as expected? Did you achieve your goals?

For more information about how you can use a marketing org chart to help your small business, download our free mini-ebook. You’ll receive in-depth information on using this chart in your own small business to create a cohesive marketing strategy that brings in leads you can convert into real customers.