‍How to build your 2025 Sales and Marketing plan

As we approach the end of the year, it’s time to reflect and prepare for what lies ahead. Starting early on your sales and marketing plan is essential; the more time you have to prepare, the better positioned you’ll be to achieve next year's goals. There’s nothing worse than having great ideas but lacking the time or resources to pull it all together. Here, we’ll walk you through how to begin building your 2025 sales and marketing plan.

‍Define your 2025 goals

When structuring your sales and marketing plans, start by considering your goals for 2025: What are your quarterly targets? Key performance indicators (KPIs)? We recommend setting attainable annual goals and breaking them down into manageable quarterly targets. For example, if your venue generates the most revenue during the holiday season, set higher targets for that quarter than for a typically quieter season. 

‍Align sales & marketing with your goals

Next, align your sales and marketing plans with your overall goals. Think about how to drive sales during slow seasons and how you can adapt strategies to respond to market changes effectively.

Using customer relationship management (CRM) tools can be transformative for your business. With a robust CRM system like Salesforce, you can integrate data from various touch points, making it easier to coordinate with other teams.

“CRM data provides a unified view of customers, allowing businesses to tailor sales and marketing strategies effectively.” – Jessica Murray, Salesforce

For venues specifically, metrics like inquiry volume, conversion rates, and customer retention are critical. This information often forms the foundation of your sales and marketing goals.

“Even without a CRM, simple tracking systems can help measure these metrics.” – Jack Rycott, Head of Events, Incipio

‍Leverage data for growth opportunities

By analysing current or past years’ data, you can uncover growth opportunities, enabling a proactive approach to refine your sales and marketing strategies based on real-time insights.

“Accurate data is crucial for spotting growth avenues. Look for patterns in customer engagement and bookings to tailor your marketing strategies accordingly.”

‍Trend-driven planning

Look at trends to inform your plans for the following year. For example, a large restaurant group, Incipio, has shared that they’re focusing on experiential events in 2025.

“People are seeking unique, immersive experiences. We’re developing customisable event packages to meet this demand.” – Jack Rycott, Head of Events, Incipio

Another trend transforming the industry is AI. Leveraging AI and automation in your sales and marketing tactics offers substantial opportunities. AI-driven personalisation can help you tailor content based on client preferences, boosting engagement.

‍Introducing 3D Studio by HeadBox

HeadBox is committed to helping companies adapt and thrive in a changing landscape with our new revolutionary product, 3D Studio. We’ve created the first-ever 3D virtual tour that will elevate your sales proposals and change how potential clients view your venue. 

While some venues may already have the basic 3D tours, our new tool takes this concept further. Now, you can include a virtual tour guide to fully immerse prospective clients in your venue, showcasing all the features they’re looking for. Even better – the 3D tour can be customised to align with client preferences, including their name, preferred language, and a tailored text-to-speech script. 

Not only will this benefit your clients by allowing them to view your venue without needing a site visit, but it also saves time, cuts costs, and supports sustainability.

‍Set yourself apart in 2025

As we prepare for 2025, remember that a well-structured, data-driven sales and marketing plan can set you apart from the competition. For more insights, watch the full recording of our recent webinar featuring Jack Rycott, Head of Events at Incipio, and Jessica Murray, Account Executive for Travel, Transport & Hospitality at Salesforce.

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