Spring is a time to indulge your Inner Perfectionist, a momentary time out from the every day bustle to evaluate progress, siphon off unneeded baggage, and create breathing room in your office space and project files.

May is also a good time to evaluate progress in your marketing efforts, too; if you don’t stop at some point to appraise how things are working, you’re missing a valuable step in your marketing efforts.

Here’s an example: earlier this year, Horse Sense momentarily dropped its advertising in a local publication. For years we’d maintained a small annual contract with the local paper to promote monthly tour dates. It was time to see if those ads were still doing their job.

The answer: Yes, they were! Attendance dropped off dramatically when the ads disappeared. It turns out this small investment yielded response from the local market while also helping Horse Sense maintain top-of-mind awareness. The ad was worth it.

Take a couple hours now to regroup and look over your marketing efforts for the year. Are you networking in the right venues? Are you overlooking important opportunities? Is your website Events page up to date? Is it time to restock brochures? Are your ads working?

Do your spring cleaning now, and you still have time to course-correct and renew your focus before more valuable time passes.

--- Brenda Dammann
The Riding Writer
www.CreativeInc.net