This might sound like an obvious things to say, but the key word here is “focus.” i.e Focus on the message of your marketing and focus on the timing of its delivery. With regards to the actual message, are you sending out the right message to the right people? Is your marketing message consistent and/or part of a larger mission statement? Either way, my suggestion is to make sure that you break your marketing plan into clearly defined segments which detail what each segment is supposed to achieve. For example, if your objective is to convey the message that your company makes the best xxxx’s on the market, are you talking nationally or locally? What platforms are you using to convey this message? How often and what style are you using? Consider all these anomalies before going “live” with anything!

Focusing on timing is more tricky to legislate for as you may well decide to use a singular burst of activity or use a drip feed method. Alternatively, there may well be seasonal influences as to when you run your activity. For example, you may want to avoid the summer and Christmas periods, but consider whether this means that you want to join the crowds in the Autumn when everyone else is likely to be active with their marketing?

Given the likelihood that your own resources are going to be limited, I would suggest your starting point should be to aim for a spread of activity across the year with synergy coming from uniformity of your marketing message. Decide on a “hook” and a “look” and roll it out! That way your activity will get noticed and your
budget will last longer!