| By Valentine J. Brkich – Staff Writer As one year comes to a close and another begins, it’s natural to look back at the previous year to review your successes and, yes, your failures. For example, in 2025, I was able to stay fairly consistent in posting to my Substack, with over 40 published posts! Woohoo! That said, I only added 78 new subscribers, which is 4,922 short of my goal for the year. Oh, well. At least I learned a valuable lesson: I need to lower my expectations. For companies, it’s also important to look back at your marketing efforts for the year to see what worked, what didn’t, and what improvements you can make to attract more customers in the New Year. To help you do this, I’ve put together a list of questions you can ask yourself to help you supercharge your marketing efforts in 2026 Execution & Results Marketing is all about results. If something is not providing the results you want, you need to shift your perspective and try something different. For example, I tried to work out at least three times a week this past year in an effort to convert my “dad bod” into a “rad bod.” But after a couple of weeks, I wasn’t seeing any noticeable results, so I just quit working out altogether. Looking back at your marketing in 2025, which campaigns delivered the strongest results and why? What efforts failed to provide the ROI you’d hoped for? What’s something new you can try in the New Year to help you increase your brand’s notoriety and, in turn, grow your revenue? Audience & Branding In order for your marketing to be successful, you have to understand exactly who you are, what your target audience is, and how to reach that audience through your messaging. For example, I’m a storyteller. Always have been. My target audience is anyone with a lot of money who’s looking to share the wealth with a struggling author by purchasing a large number of his books. If this sounds like you, hit me up! What about you? How consistent were you in communicating your brand’s value in 2025? How effective (or ineffective) was your messaging and why? What can you do to better define your target audience and make sure you’re reaching them in 2026? Team, Tools & Tech Marketing success isn’t just defined by your campaigns, it’s also dependent on the tools you have and the people who utilize them. If you don’t have the right person or tool for the job, you’re just asking for trouble. Believe me, I know. That’s why my wife never asks me to fix anything. She knows better. So, how effective were your team members in the past year? Did you provide them with the resources, skills, and tools they needed to succeed? What internal processes worked? Which do you need to tweak or improve? How could you have better leveraged the latest technology to help your team in their marketing efforts? More To Do Next Year These are just a few of the questions you should be asking yourself as 2025 comes to a close, and you look to improve your marketing in the New Year. The key is to be honest with yourself so that you can learn from your mistakes and grow from them. For example, next year, I’m not going to set some crazy goals like selling a million books or adding 5,000 new followers to my Substack. No need to be greedy. I’d be perfectly fine with half a million and 2,500. Valentine J. Brkich is a staff writer at MARQUEE. Check out more of his writing at valthewriter.substack.com. |