Welcome to 2018. I feel like there is already a certain magic in the air this year. A renewed sense of hope, anticipation and opportunity that means elevated success, however you define it, is just around the corner for all of us. 2017 may have been a tough year for many, but you know what they say about that – yep, challenges and struggles are our teachers in life and as one of my favourites Tom Ford says “failure sends you back into the ring to get it right”. One of the best things about this quote is that Tom Ford is admitting to failures! I worked on the brand for years and trust me, absolutely nothing is an accident, everything is very deliberate, planning is meticulous and the brand is edited in a way that can only be described as perfect. So for someone like this to say yes, there have been failures (albeit extremely good looking designer failures) is so reassuring because let’s be honest, none of us get it right all the time.

So the first step to realising these hopes and dreams in 2018 is to look back, acknowledge and then own what might not have gone so well last year. Learn to know what not to do so you can laser focus your energy on correcting your course this year.

I’ve mentioned this idea before, but one of my favourite concepts is called “3 key points”. A very simple strategy, taught to me by my brother-in-law, that forces you to prioritise. Whether you’re describing how your day was, or what your mum gave you for Christmas, or, as the case may be, planning for 2018, it creates a very clear picture of what really matters to you. And, most importantly when it comes to planning, you can easily remember what your goals are. Then, when you’re doing anything at all this year you can quickly reference against your 3 key points and see if that activity serves your overarching goals. For example, my husband and I have designed 3 key points for this year on a personal level; one for love, one for finances and one for fun and everything we do should fit back in to fulfilling these goals.

Business wise, I did a fair bit of reading over the holidays and made lots of notes along the way about what I want to achieve this year. As I waded through a sea of information, some very clear themes started to come through. So in the very spirit of “3 key points” here are what I consider to be the 3 most important things you should be focusing on to elevate the success of your business in 2018.

1. A YEAR OF MINIMALISM

In other words, keep it simple. Be discerning and edit like you never have before. Streamline your thoughts, systems and processes because the excess is distracting you. Think of this whole process, planning your 2018 “3 keys points”, as the theme for the entire year. The easier it is for your customers to find you, interact with you and review what you have to offer, the easier it is for them to spend money with you. Make the path to purchase as short and as easy as possible. Scale back your range, focus on your pillar products, delete what you don’t need and be ruthless about it. Repeat after me; fewer, bigger, better.

2. RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

Hang on, let’s reverse that for a second; the time is NOW and the place is where your customers are. You have to get really specific about 1) WHO your customers are and 2) WHERE your customers hang out. There is no point in channeling all your energy into Instagram for example if your customers are over on Facebook. Use your social media analytics to find out when they’re most active on what platform so you can tailor your posts accordingly. Ask your customers where they love spending time, involve them in the process because this year they want to be actors in your world, not sideline spectators. You simple have to be where she is. And then, when you get there, tell your brand story as often as you can.

3. GUT INSTINCT

No-one knows your business better than you. You started your business because you’re passionate about what you do and you’ve likely learnt some pretty valuable lessons along the way. So this year, let your feelings guide you and tap into your emotional intelligence. When something isn’t right, you know it, you can feel it, it makes you uncomfortable and twitchy and unsettled. Use this gut instinct to make better business decisions. Inject more humanity into your routines and promise yourself that you will listen, because 9 times out of 10, you will be right (even Tom Ford makes the occasional mistake).

I hope you have the most fantastic year ever. If you have a pressing marketing question you need help with, reach out, I would love to hear from you. In the meantime, do follow us on instagram @blancspaceco

Love,

Erin xx