What you could do now to prepare for 2025

Get 2024 ready!

With the end of 2024 drawing near, it’s time to start thinking about your business hopes for next year. Whether it’s a 40 slide deck, or on the back of the notepad, understanding what you want your business to achieve is essential for growth, to be efficient with budget and to get that all important buy-in from the rest of the business.

Start with strategy - Define your north star

You want to have a good year, well you need to think about and prepare a well-defined strategy. What are your key objectives for the next year? Are you looking to expand into new markets, launch new products, or strengthen your brand’s position?

Ben’s tip: Align your business goals with measurable outcomes, such as increasing revenue, improving customer retention, landing that dream deal, or enhancing operational efficiency.

Optimise resources - Prepare your team and tools

With clear goals and a defined budget, you can ensure your team has the tools needed to execute for your clients. Whether it’s expanding your in-house capabilities or outsourcing to experts, having new tech and the right resources are critical.

Ben’s tip: Don’t overlook assessing the tool you’ve used for years, yes it might work and everybody knows how to use it, but the SaaS market is rife with new tools with everything from billing and accounting, to design and dev tools, so it's worth just checking in with the new kids on the block. We have already started assessing the tools we need to be more productive and to stay ahead of the game!

Invest in design - The foundation of perception

Your brand is the first impression potential customers have. An outdated logo, inconsistent visuals, or unclear messaging can undermine even the best strategies. Design is an investment, not an afterthought.

Ben’s tip: Right, I know we’re a creative agency, so I would say assess your brand ;) but honestly, to attract customers no matter the industry, getting the branding to a place where it reflects your business’s values will pay dividends in time. Good brand and creative = more business = increased growth.

Prioritise development - Build for the future

Your website and digital platforms are your most critical assets in the modern market. If they’re not up to standard, you’re leaving money on the table. Fast load times, intuitive navigation, and mobile optimisation aren’t optional - they’re expected.

Ben’s tip: It’s all very well me encouraging you to get a new website, but unlike brand value, which is harder to define (especially in small businesses), with digital and the web the online proof is very much in the stats. Review your analytics to identify pain points in user experience. Are you losing customers due to slow pages, broken links, or outdated functionality? Add these issues to your 2025 improvement plan and capital budget.

Marketing - Your growth engine

Once your strategy, brand and tools are aligned, focus on how you’ll attract and engage your audience. Targeted marketing campaigns, supported by data and creativity, drive measurable outcomes.

Ben’s tip: Don’t just plan campaigns - plan for iteration. Test your tactics, measure performance, and refine your approach for continuous improvement.

You can’t afford to skip this process!

Failing to plan thoroughly for the year ahead can leave you stuck with outdated systems, missed opportunities, and wasted budgets. As the saying goes, ‘fail to plan, plan to fail!’ preparation is your best competitive advantage.

Ben’s tip: We always get together as a full team to discuss the last year and prepare for the next. We all retro the year, and we always get great ideas when the team comes together and just chats about all things, the good, bad and ugly(!). Then we take this and think how we can make our studio, processes and work better in the next year. It’s a whole team exercise!

Onwards and upwards!

By aligning your goals with the right design, development and marketing strategies, you set your business up to thrive. Taking the time to evaluate and prepare now ensures you’ll hit the ground running in the new year.

Is your business ready for the challenges of 2024? Let Dodgems and Floss help you elevate your strategy with expert design, development, and marketing solutions. Let’s talk!