It's 4:14PM on a Friday and I'm thinking through the items accomplished this week and those yet to be completed. Each week can feel like a blur when so many items are happening at the same time... and yes, it... More

It's 4:14PM on a Friday and I'm thinking through the items accomplished this week and those yet to be completed. Each week can feel like a blur when so many items are happening at the same time... and yes, it is August, back to school is in full swing and the holidays are literally right around the corner. I've been asking people on my team over the past month what are the critical items they want and ultimately need to complete in the next four and a half months to consider this year a success.

This thought led me to think that marketers are likely going through the same process right now. As such I thought I'd offer a few key recommendations to ensure you are ready for the end of the year...

August & September
* Draft and Finalize Holiday Plan
* Finalize NEW Program Enhancements
    - New Creative Design
    - New Targeting/Segmentation Tests
    - New Programs (Triggered Campaigns, Web Analytics Integration, etc)
    - New Acquisition Programs

October & November
* Draft and Finalize 2009 Plan
* Execute Holiday Plan
    - Test, Learn, React
    - Be ready to react with new programs to stem any unexpected results

December
* Execute, sleep, measure, execute, sleep, measure, etc...

2009
* Rinse and repeat - each new year brings new goals and a steeper hill to climb - Good luck and let us know how we can help!

Note: If you are in the midst of selecting a new email service provider, now is the time to finalize that decision so that your program can be fully implemented and you are in a good state heading into the holiday. Each year we continue to setup new clients throughout the fourth quarter; however, the earlier you make that transition - the better. Less