Entering the New Year with a list full of resolutions can feel like hitting a reset button on life. Although most personal resolutions are dropped by February, businesses that set goals for the New Year are more motivated to keep their brand fresh, modern and successful. Here are some of our recommendations to give you the best start in 2019.

Hit the Reset Button on Your Website
Do your business a favor and take a few moments during the holiday break to peruse the many aesthetically modern and user-friendly websites that hit the web in 2018. How does your website stack up to your competitors? If it has been more than two years since you have updated your website, we recommend an upgrade as priority one in 2019. After all, your website is often your customer’s first impression of your business and we know you want to make a good one.   

Take note of how service pages are presented and the overall user experience on newer sites. You will want to ensure that your website is responsive to a variety of formats, like tablets and cell phones. Is the information about your business, staff pages and services all up to date?  Are your social links visible? Are your blog pages current? 

Shop your local agencies. A good fit will be someone who can provide the best modern option with your target audience in mind.

Get Social
Managing your brand online is no small task. Finding time to work in your business is just as important as working on your business and finding the appropriate balance is crucial for success in the digital age. Unfortunately, many business owners cannot find enough time in their day to work on their brand’s social media presence.  

Resolve to stop missing out on online customer engagements this year. Start small and pick one platform you’re comfortable with. Better to have one robust channel than several bare bones social accounts. Your personality built the company that your customers love so make time to get online and interact with your people. End of the day, at lunchtime, while you are on the treadmill—no excuses!

Learning in 2019
Take time out to learn more about new developments or cultural aspects pertaining to your field. Increased business awareness will spark your creativity and could lead to more sales throughout the year.  

Resolve to learn these things each month and cross-train if necessary, into other relevant business fields. Not only will you be able to better serve your customers by understanding what they want before they do, but you will also fill your entrepreneur spirit with the information you crave.

More Security Please
The beginning of the year is the best time to implement any new measures you will take to secure data associated with your business. For the last few years, we have seen major corporations and government agencies hacked for our personal information. Resolve not to be one of those companies and do your best to lock down any vulnerability data or your customer’s information that could be subjected to hacking.

Money, Money, Money
Saving the best for last… 

One of the first business resolutions you should create each year is to make better financial decisions.  Start your year with an evaluation of your budget from the previous year. Consider your purchasing habits and your income. Write down the things that you could have done without. Write down the best financial decision you made throughout the year. Resolve to make more of the better decisions and eliminate the items that you could have done without.  

This is also a great time to review your digital subscriptions and bills that are on auto pay. Can you pay off any low balances? Can you cancel memberships that you do not have time for or are not pleased with? Go ahead and start the year off on the right foot and put a little more money in your pocket.

No matter what your personal goals are for the New Year, keep in mind that your labor of love also needs a set of resolutions or list of goals for you and your employees to strive for in 2019. After all, you want to create a stronger company each year and making changes to meet your customers’ needs will always be better for your business.