It’s that time of year again! The time when we’re all trying to wrap up all of our delivery and customer or client needs for the year. But it’s also the time of year to set yourself up for success in 2025.
You’ve likely worked through your business and financial goals for next year. But do you have an actionable plan to meet those goals? If a marketing strategy isn’t fine-tuned and ready to go for 2025, then you may have a bit more work to do. But you won’t regret taking the time to structure a marketing plan – it’ll pay back in spades (and hours) next year.
A well-structured marketing plan streamlines your efforts, increases ROI on your marketing spend, and drives consistent attainable growth. Yet, challenges such as budget constraints, changing customer behavior, and increased competition make effective planning a critical item to add to your year-end to-do list. Make the most of your investment – let’s plan 2025 marketing it in a few thoughtful steps.
Step 1: Review 2024 Performance
A thorough review of your 2024 marketing performance is the foundation for a successful 2025 plan. This step helps you identify what worked, what didn’t, and why—so you can build on successes and learn from challenges. Here are areas to review.
Key Campaign Outcomes
Take a close look at your 2024 marketing campaigns—whether product launches, seasonal promotions, or lead-generation initiatives—and revisit their goals, like driving sales, building brand awareness, or capturing leads. Measure performance against those objectives and analyze key metrics like open rates, click-throughs, and conversions to see what worked. Did email outperform social media? Were targeted messaging, strong visuals, or timing the drivers? Identify successes and areas for improvement, and refine your approach for 2025.
Performance Metrics
Analyze core marketing metrics to paint a picture of your performance:
Website Traffic: Did you see growth in unique visitors, time on site, and bounce rates?
Email Marketing: How did open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribe rates compare to past campaigns?
- According to HubSpot, average email open rates for 2024 are between 25% and 40% depending on your industry. Where do your emails rank?
Social Media Engagement: Track follower growth, likes, shares, and comments.
Lead Generation: Review the number of leads generated, conversion rates, and cost-per-lead.
Sales and Brand Results Versus Your Goals
Review how your 2024 marketing supported your sales and brand goals. Did your campaigns hit revenue targets, or did results miss the mark? For example, if you aimed for a 15% sales boost from a product launch, did your messaging generate the interest and conversions you needed? If not, consider why—was it a lack of promotion, market changes, or engagement issues?
On the brand side, did your efforts improve visibility and loyalty? Metrics like website traffic, social growth, and customer feedback can give you the full picture. Knowing what clicked with your audience will help you refine your strategy and keep your brand message sharp.
Pro Tip: If you didn’t set specific sales or brand goals for 2024, use current figures as benchmarks for 2025 planning.
Need to Gather More Data?
- Customer Feedback: Collect insights from surveys, reviews, and social media interactions to better understand customer needs and pain points.
- Market and Competitor Analysis: Assess how market trends or competitor activities influenced your results. Were there new competitors or strategies that affected your market share?
Example: If competitors adopted video marketing on TikTok and you didn’t note this as a potential opportunity for 2025, but be sure that you have an overall plan for video before jumping into TikTok.
Mini Brand Audit
Ensure your marketing stays true to your brand identity with a comprehensive audit. Review how well your 2024 messaging, visuals, and tone aligned across your website, social media, and campaigns. Look for inconsistencies that might confuse your audience—did your brand’s tone stay consistent or drift off course?
For example, if your brand emphasizes professionalism and reliability, but your social media tone veered into casual or off-brand humor, this discrepancy could weaken your brand equity.
Use customer feedback and engagement metrics to gauge if your brand still matches your goals and resonates with your audience. If not, it may be time to refresh your guidelines. A unified brand identity builds trust, strengthens loyalty, and sets a strong foundation for your 2025 strategy.
Action to Take: If you notice inconsistency, consider updating your brand guidelines or conducting a brand refresh in 2025.
Summarize Your 2024 Review Insights
Distill your review into actionable insights to guide your 2025 planning. A sample list might look like this:
Our Q2 webinar series drove 40% more leads than expected. We’ll expand this strategy in 2025.
Social media engagement on LinkedIn declined by 15%. We’ll rework our content strategy to include more thought leadership posts.
Our visual identity was inconsistent across platforms. We’ll refresh brand guidelines and ensure all teams are aligned.
Step 2: Define Clear Objectives for 2025
With insights from 2024 in hand, the next step is to define clear marketing objectives for 2025 to serve as your roadmap, so that your marketing efforts align with your broader business goals.
Align Marketing Objectives with Business Priorities
Start by identifying your company’s overarching business goals for 2025. These might include expanding into new markets, launching new products or services, or increasing revenue. Your marketing objectives should directly support these priorities.
For example:
Business Goal: Expand into a new geographic market
Marketing Objective: Increase brand awareness in that region by 20% through targeted digital ad campaigns and localized content.
Business Goal: Launch a new product line in Q2
Marketing Objective: Generate 1,000 pre-launch sign-ups through an integrated content, email, and social media strategy.
Business Goal: Increase overall revenue by 15%
Marketing Objective: Drive a 25% increase in website traffic and a 10% boost in conversion rates by optimizing SEO and launching paid search campaigns.
Prioritizing Objectives
Prioritize your objectives based on resources, market conditions, and business goals. It’s tempting to chase every new trend or idea, but focus on what truly aligns with your strategy. Just because others are doing something doesn’t mean it’s right for your brand right now.
Impact vs. Effort: Which objectives will deliver the highest ROI with the resources you have?
Short-Term vs. Long-Term Goals: Balance quick wins with strategies that contribute to long-term growth.
Dependencies: Are there objectives that need to be completed before others can begin (e.g., building brand awareness before launching a new product)?
Pro Tip: Keep it focused. A clear list of 3-5 key objectives ensures your strategy stays actionable and aligned with your goals.
Step 3: Identify Your Target Audience
Refining your target audience helps your marketing reach the right people. Accurate insights let you craft better messaging, choose the right channels, and achieve your goals. Buyer personas—detailed profiles of your ideal customers—highlight demographics, behaviors, pain points, and goals.
Review Current Audience Strategy
Start by assessing your current audience and personas. Consider these questions:
Are They Still Accurate?
Has your audience’s behavior, needs, or demographics shifted since you last created these personas? Changes in the market, technology adoption, or cultural trends may have changed how your audience interacts with your brand.
Do They Align with Business Objectives?
Reflect on your 2025 business goals—do your personas still represent the customers who will help you achieve these objectives? For example, if your goal is to expand into a new market segment, your existing personas may need to be updated or supplemented.
Are There New Audience Segments?
Identify any new potential audiences that emerged in 2024. Did you notice increased engagement from younger people on platforms like TikTok? Consider creating a persona for this group.
Updating or Creating Buyer Personas
Refresh or create your buyer personas by combining data and insights. Use analytics tools like Google Analytics, social insights, or CRM data for demographics (age, gender, location, profession). Add info from surveys or reviews to find motivations and challenges. Include psychographics like interests and pain points that your product solves and details such as preferred platforms. These personas act as an ideal example of your audience.
Example Persona:
- Name: Marketing Manager “Melinda”
- Age: 35-45
- Location: Suburban, Midwest
- Goals: Implement effective marketing strategies to drive lead generation.
- Pain Points: Limited time and budget for campaign execution.
- Preferred Channels: LinkedIn, email newsletters, and industry blogs.
Adapt to Shifting Customer Behavior
Keep your buyer personas current by tracking shifts in behavior, demographics, and trends. Segment audiences by interests and behaviors, and adjust strategies to meet them where they are—like focusing on short-form video or value-driven messaging during economic shifts. Stay aware of changes so your marketing stays relevant and resonates with your audience.
Pro Tip: Regularly update your personas and audience strategy based on data and feedback. An annual or bi-annual audience review helps align the market and business goals.
Step 4: Choose Your Marketing Channels Wisely
Choose the right marketing channels to maximize your efforts and budget in 2025. By looking at what worked well in the past and keeping an eye on new trends, you can focus on the channels that really connect with your audience and align with your goals.
Evaluate Past Channel Performance
Begin by reviewing how each marketing channel performed in 2024. Look at metrics like engagement, lead generation, and conversion rates to find out where your audience was most active. For example, if your LinkedIn campaigns generated high-quality leads, or your email newsletters drove website traffic, these channels should remain a priority.
Ask yourself:
- Which channels delivered the most engagement and conversions?
- Where did your audience show the most growth?
- Which channels underperformed, and why?
Understanding these insights will help you invest in what works and refine or phase out what doesn’t.
Channel Selection Strategy
With limited resources, prioritization is key. Focus on the channels where your target audience is most active. If your goal is to increase B2B leads, digital platforms like LinkedIn and email marketing are usually more effective. For B2C engagement, Instagram and Facebook might yield better results.
A good approach is to categorize channels into three tiers:
Tier 1: Primary Channels
These are your top-performing platforms that consistently drive results. Examples include:
- Email Marketing
- Local Television Advertising
Tier 2: Secondary Channels
Platforms that show potential but may require testing or refinement. Examples might include:
- YouTube
- Paid Ads
- Direct Mail
Tier 3: Emerging Channels
New platforms or trends that are worth exploring. For example:
- TikTok
- Threads
Current Channel Trends to Consider for 2025
Keeping up with marketing trends is a great way to stay connected with your audience and keep your strategies fresh. Here are a few trends to watch for in 2025.
Short Form Videos
Platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts continue to dominate. If your audience engages with video content, consider creating short, engaging clips to boost visibility.
SEO Evolution
Search engines are putting more focus than ever on high-quality, user-friendly content. To capture the high ROI on SEO, keep up with the latest SEO trends—like optimizing for voice search, AI-driven results, and tools like Google Guaranteed that help boost trust and visibility. Staying on top of these updates will help your content stand out and connect with the right audience.
Customer-Led Growth and Personalization
Leverage AI tools to create more personalized experiences that today’s customers expect—73% say they want content tailored to their needs. From personalized messaging and chatbots to predictive analytics, AI can help you automate and scale that personalization by recommending the right product, delivering follow-ups, or answering questions instantly.
Remember, focusing on what aligns with your goals and audience is more important than chasing the latest trend. Prioritizing the right channels will make your marketing strategic and efficient.
Step 5: Develop Your Content and Campaign Calendar
A calendar will keep you organized, consistent, and aligned. By mapping out in advance, you can strategically time campaigns and make sure your content supports your bigger business objectives.
Campaign Planning
Start by identifying the key events, launches, and promotions.
- Product Launches
- Seasonal Promotions
- Industry Events
When planning campaigns, aim for integrated campaigns that leverage multiple channels (e.g., email, social media, and paid ads) to create cohesive messaging and amplify your reach.
Pro Tip: If you’re new to campaign planning or want to streamline the process, begin with quarterly campaigns. This will provide structure without overwhelming your team.
Content Planning
Create a content plan that works with your goals and channels, supporting both your campaigns and ongoing marketing efforts. Strong messaging, thoughtful design, targeting, and ongoing optimization all play a role in great marketing results. Stick to a consistent posting schedule to build momentum and engage your audience.
Plan strategically, create quality content, and continuously improve to drive real results.
Content Types to Consider
Blog Posts: Focus on topics that address your audience’s pain points and boost SEO.
Social Media Content: Develop an approach to fit to each platform’s best practices.
Email Newsletters: Schedule regular updates for your closest audience.
Video Content: Short-form videos (TikTok, Reels) and long-form videos (YouTube) can increase engagement and visibility.
Pro Tip: Use tools like Google Calendar, Trello, Asana, or Meta Business Suite to organize your content plan and streamline collaboration. These tools can help you track deadlines and keep your team aligned.
Why an Integrated Plan Matters
A strong content and campaign calendar ties all your marketing channels together, so your emails, social posts, and ads work in sync. When everything reinforces the same goals and themes, you create a seamless experience for your audience, boost engagement, and maximize your impact( and ROI)—plus, platforms love consistent, high-quality content.
Step 6: Budgeting and Resource Allocation
According to the 2024 Gartner Survey, only 24% of CMOs feel they have enough budget to execute their strategies this year. Marketing budgets have taken a hit, dropping 15% year-over-year. Even more challenging, this isn’t new; it’s part of an ongoing trend of shrinking budgets, making every dollar count more than ever.
Estimating Costs and Setting a Realistic Budget
Aligning a marketing budget as a percentage of revenue is a great starting point. Here are some industry standards on marketing spend as a percent of revenue:
- B2B Companies: Typically allocate 2-5% of revenue to marketing, focusing on targeted campaigns and relationship-building activities.
- B2C Companies: Often spend 5-10% of revenue to reach broader audiences and drive engagement.
- Startups and High-Growth Companies: May invest up to 30% of revenue to accelerate market penetration and brand recognition.
As you estimate costs, factor in expenses for content production, paid media, tools and software (e.g., CRM systems, analytics tools), and any events or promotions. Make sure your budget accounts for both ongoing activities and new initiatives planned for 2025.
Focus on ROI: Paid vs. Organic Marketing
When planning your budget, consider the balance between paid and organic marketing. Paid marketing—such as PPC ads, social media advertising, and sponsored content—can drive quick results but usually requires investment. Organic marketing—like SEO, content marketing, and social media engagement—can offer long-term value with a lower initial cost.
A balanced strategy might look like:
- Paid Campaigns for launches, promotions, or retargeting efforts to drive immediate sales.
- Organic Content to build authority, improve SEO, and nurture relationships with your audience.
Balancing In-House Efforts with Outsourcing
When thinking about ROI, don’t forget to factor in time, effort, and resources. Efficient allocation means deciding where your internal team should focus their time—whether that’s sales, customer service, or other priorities. Outsourcing tasks, like design, video production, or content creation, allows everyone involved to focus on their expertise, saving time and driving better results. It’s a smart way to boost ROI and effectiveness.
Consider outsourcing when:
You lack the specific expertise or tools needed for a task.
The task is time-consuming and would pull your team away from core responsibilities.
You need high-quality output quickly (e.g., a major campaign launch).
Leveraging external specialists can help teams remain agile and competitive, especially when resources are tight.
Step 7: Set Up Metrics and KPIs to Track Success
To keep your 2025 marketing plan on track, set clear KPIs that align with your goals. They will let you measure success, spot improvement areas, and make smarter decisions.
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- Website Traffic: Track unique visitors, page views, bounce rates, and session duration to measure your site’s performance.
- KPI Example: Increase unique website visitors by 25% by Q4 2025 through improved SEO, blog content, and strategic backlinking.
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- Lead Generation: Measure leads, cost-per-lead (CPL), and conversion rates to see how well you’re filling the sales funnel.
- KPI Example: Generate 500 qualified leads per month by Q3 2025 through targeted PPC campaigns, downloadable gated content, and webinars.
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- Email Marketing: Monitor open rates, click-through rates (CTR), and unsubscribes to gauge email effectiveness.
- KPI Example: Achieve an email open rate of 25% and a click-through rate of 4% by the end of 2025 through personalized subject lines, segmented lists, and A/B testing.
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- Social Media Engagement: Track likes, comments, shares, follower growth, and engagement rates to measure audience connection.
- KPI Example: Grow Instagram followers by 20% and boost engagement rates by 15% over the next six months through interactive posts, stories, and short-form video content.
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- Paid Advertising Performance: Evaluate ad performance with cost-per-click (CPC), click-through rates (CTR), and return on ad spend (ROAS).
- KPI Example: Achieve a return on ad spend (ROAS) of 4:1 by Q2 2025 by refining ad targeting, optimizing keywords, and testing ad creatives.
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- Conversion Rates: Track how well you’re turning prospects into customers through sales, sign-ups, or form submissions.
- KPI Example: Increase website conversion rates from 2% to 3% by optimizing landing pages, CTAs, and user experience by Q2 2025.
Review your KPIs monthly or quarterly, analyze trends, and adjust strategies to meet your goals.
Why Planning Now Pays Off
Congratulations! By following these steps, you’ve created a 2025 marketing plan to drive growth in coordination with your business goals. You’ve built a solid foundation by reviewing 2024, defining objectives, selecting the right channels, and establishing a budget.
A solid plan keeps your year running smoothly. It helps you tackle challenges, use your resources wisely, and stay flexible in a changing market. With a clear content calendar and tracking systems in place, you can measure what’s working, make smart adjustments, and keep your marketing strategy on track.
A strategic marketing plan is just the starting point—bringing it to life through smart execution, ongoing optimization, and a focus on delivering real value is what makes the difference. If you’re ready to take your strategy to the next level, our team is here to help. Let’s collaborate to make your 2025 goals a reality—reach out and let’s get started!
