Want great results? Learn to plan.

Above is a photograph from the Second Annual Portlandia Mermaid Parade

As I sat down to write this, I was struck by how fast summer has flown by these past couple of months. And in the Pacific Northwest when summer comes, you embrace every bit of it. That’s especially real here in Portland, where summer is truly a one-of-a-kind experience.

My wife and I are still relatively new to Portland, and we learned that from mermaid parades and neighborhood block parties to Shakespeare-in-the-Parks and adult soapbox derby races, there is something to do nearly each day of summer here. Unless you don’t plan. So several months ago, we sat down with multiple event calendars and tagged all the things we wanted to do.

It’s the same with your company. Every business has a peak season during the year. For some retailers it comes with year-end holidays and sales. For others it soars with the craze of a fashion trend. And the weather has a direct impact on when the busy season hits for other businesses.

The key is to know when your peak season will arrive. So, if you want to maximize objectives, design a marketing plan for that season. Take time to evaluate what worked (and didn’t) during the last cycle. Sit down and look ahead, get input from key stakeholders, talk to customers, observe the marketplace, and evaluate your competition’s efforts. Make it a priority – before your season arrives – to do your homework. Plan. And then sit back and enjoy the events that unfold.

Knowing there was so much to do this summer, my wife and I sat down at the beginning of June and laid out our plan for the next few months. We carefully reviewed entertainment calendars, researched online, and put the plan on our personal calendars. From mountain hikes and downtown concerts to art shows and, yes, even the Portlandia Mermaid Parade, we scheduled something to do just about every day.

With a little bit of planning before the peak season hit, we squeezed every bit of fun into our summer in Portland. And we still have several weeks to go.

Establish a plan that emphasizes your peak season, and you’ll enjoy the maximum output of your marketing efforts. Plan away and have fun!

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Looking for some inspiration for your planning? Here are a few links to publications I enjoy and that will stimulate your thinking as you plan. 

http://adage.com/   Advertising Age is the hallmark of advertising and will give you plenty to stimulate your advertising efforts.  

https://www.entrepreneur.com/   Entrepreneur focuses more on small businesses and gives a lot of practical marketing advice.

https://www.fastcompany.com/  Fast Company is a great publication to help you shake off some old ways of thinking.