Enjoy Your Summer – It's Almost Time For Planning Season!

As someone who has come to the U.S. and made it my home, I always appreciate the country’s major holidays, such as Fourth of July. Of course, for me, this particular holiday is less a time of national pride and more a glimpse into the social norms that make this place tick – especially since, at some point over the festive weekend, the topic of the British being on the losing side will generally come up in conversation. (Don’t worry – we’re over it. After all, it was a long time ago.)

For me, Fourth of July is all about enjoying the warm weather, my neighborhood, the fireworks, and of course, the food. And after 10 years on this side of the pond, I know better than to suggest we serve our guests anything other than hot dogs and hamburgers. Lots and lots of hot dogs and hamburgers.

However, as the smoke clears (from both the fireworks and possibly also the food), it won't be long until summer gives way to the next season – a season that seems to sneak up on b-to-b marketers a little bit quicker every year.  No, not  the fall – planning season!

The companies I work with (both large and small) often have a certain amount of  trepidation about planning season. It’s usually some “this might be the year we get it right!” optimism tempered with the underlying feeling that several person-years of effort are about to be expended, only for the end result to look curiously similar to last year’s, plus or minus x percent (normally minus).

When it comes to planning, many companies are keen to try a different recipe  and not serve up the same approach as in previous years. And the more forward-looking companies are getting a head start now, before the planning process hits high gear and the deadlines come fast and furious. They are looking to SiriusDecisions for advice about how to efficiently structure planning activities to keep funding and people focused on the areas that are going to have the biggest bang over the course of the coming year (not just the Fourth of July).

At our recent Summit in Nashville, SiriusDecisions introduced our Core Planning Model, which is aimed at bringing an aligned, focused, agile approach to marketing planning. Reflecting the broader business objectives, it’s a logical process for setting goals, defining your portfolio of campaigns, equipping each function to play its part, and ultimately launching and then optimizing the marketing plan.

Please contact us and learn about how the Core Planning Model – combined with SiriusDecisions’ other research and models – can help you put your customers at the heart of this year’s annual planning process.