Are you in distress or dancing this spring?

“Mayday” is a call for help internationally recognized by mariners and aviators as the signal there is a life-threatening emergency. The cry of “Mayday” has saved the lives of many and been the final words of others.

“May Day,” on the other hand, is a celebration of the arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere with festivals, dancing around the May Pole and the crowning of a May Queen. May Day is also an important day on my business calendar.

May 1^st is when I evaluate whether my exterior remodeling business needs help or if I can celebrate a successful start to the season. It is the culmination of months of marketing work—examining past campaigns, planning for the future and executing those plans. I need to know if my marketing strategy is working or needs help.

My marketing campaign calendar from Thanksgiving to May Day looks like this:

• Thanksgiving to Christmas: Review –Year-end marketing review
• Christmas to the end of January: PLAN – Strategize next year’s marketing campaign
• President’s Day: execute – Begin new year marketing campaign
• May Day: Evaluate – Assess response to marketing campaigns

My end-of-the-year routine includes rehashing old leads, thanking old clients for their patronage and reviewing last year’s marketing. As winter begins I’m making marketing plans for the new year. My new marketing campaign begins as winter ends. By May, I’m able to evaluate whether my marketing plans are succeeding.

If all is well—my lead generation, closure rate and average sale price are all where I need them to be—I can expand upon my marketing success. If all is not well I need to reevaluate if I had a sound marketing plan in the first place and then examine how well I am executing my plans.

If my lead generation, closure rate and average sale price are not generating the income my business needs, I must recognize my business is in distress and help it recover. I must change my marketing plans or do a better job of executing my plan.

Marketing plans don’t guarantee your business will be profitable by spring, but putting time and effort into the marketing of your business during winter could make the difference between crying “Mayday” and celebrating “May Day” in spring.