As Communication Designers who cater primarily to SoHo (Small Office/Home Office) businesses, we notice that even established businesses end up doing their annual Marketing Communications in a rather 'ad hoc' fashion -- with little to no regard to their overall objectives (if any) while negatively impacting their operating finances. Why is this?

Costly Knee-Jerk Reactions:
One day they realize they need updated printed stationary or some form of a brochure -- maybe even an addition to their website. Or all of the above, because they got a fantastic opportunity to be in a Trade Show they never planned on, and because it is all ‘last minute sign in’ everything is needed at once. Never mind the fact that the Trade Show might not offer the best audience -- they got a ‘bargain’ -- and any exposure is good exposure in their mind, right?

The same can hold true for a well-meaning advertising opportunity -- be it off-line or on.

Planning is Key:
The first thing any small business should do is sit down and establish a ‘big picture’ of what they wish to achieve for the year. We call it the ‘50,000 foot view’. With this comes a few business objectives. Once those are established, some cost effective strategies can be sketched out. Once all is approved, the various creative communication items can then be considered to full-fill the various strategies -- well in advance -- and WELL within a predetermined budget. Why?

Rush Jobs = Financial Waste:
What a lot of small businesses don’t realize is the damage they do to their annual marketing budget by incurring last minute rush jobs.

Designers don’t like them because they take time out of the creative process, and that means the best solution may get missed. Often times rush charges will be applied as well that could be as much as twice the normal rate.

Printers will charge as much as double to print a project because it interrupts an established workflow (assuming they are an in-demand Printer and are busy). Printers often order stock (paper) per project, so to get that special stock may incur additional charges for them, which they will pass along to you.

Publications will just charge anywhere from double to ‘the sky’ for last minute insertions, as it MAY mean bumping another advertiser.

These cost over-runs can happen in any area one may consider, just because there wasn’t ‘a plan’. And in all of these cases, mistakes are far likelier to happen due to human error.

Confidence is in The Plan:
So now a Trade Show or Publishing rep calls with that same irresistible offer (and assuming the audience IS correct) our small business owner can accept the offer, get a great bargain, and know that they have all the materials they need at hand, because they have already planned to consider Trade Show or Advertsing opportunities through the year and got their materials ready well in advance.

Remember -- Plan to succeed!