Jessi here.

Like many of the organization leaders we work with, I do many things at P&P.

Make branding easier. Open up the office.
Explain SEO. Lead the team.
Make the game plan. Make the coffee.
Run the numbers. Take out the trash.

I love them all– well, maybe not residential garbage duty, but almost all of them. As I stare down the last weeks of Q3 and rally the team to start Q4 strong, I am already thinking about 2021. I bet you are too.

As you develop your business plans for 2021, where does branding and your website fit?

I know what you are thinking. Plan? Ha, that is a lofty idea. With a year like 2020, when our playbooks got thrown out the window and we found ourselves scrambling to adjust to untrodden territory, it may seem like planning for 2021 is a wasted effort.

But, as my dad always preached to me growing up, “Sis, you have to plan your work and work your plan.” That means, you have to align your branding and, by extension, your website to your business plan. Plain and simple.

Your business plan for the upcoming year will outline your goals and how your organization plans to reach them. This is how you are planning to make money and measure success. 

You don’t have to tackle this alone or be an expert in branding and websites. Your job is to be an expert in your organization’s mission and vision.

But how are you planning to show up and connect with your people? What is the first impression you want to make with them? This is your brand, and a very important way you connect with your people is through your website.

Keeping your brand aligned to your business plan means you have a clear vision of what your organization wants to do and how it is tied to your mission. Sometimes when we are entrenched in the day-to-day operations, we can’t see the forest for the trees.

Here are 3 questions to consider when developing your upcoming business plan.

Do you know who your organization needs to connect with to make your business plan successful? I don’t mean have you identified an audience that includes basically everyone. I mean do you know them well enough that you can inspire them to action. In other words, have you developed your audience persona? This is a fictional character that embodies folks you’re trying to reach, developed through audience research. Doing this will help you understand what is important to your people, where your people show up and how they take action.

Can you clearly explain the value of your service, product, or outreach to your people in a way that matters to them? We are all passionate about what we do. I can geek out and talk design theory, website tactics and email marketing funnels all day long. However, if I can’t put our clients at the center of those conversations, I fail to connect. Are you putting your audience at the center of the conversation? Are you explaining the value you bring to them?

How does your website support your business plan? We can all agree that every organization needs a website, but it isn’t enough to simply have a website. People visit websites because they want something. They want information; they want to see if you are credible; they want entertained; they want to buy something. You get the idea. They. Want. Something. Understanding what they want (see list item number 1) and serving them that information in a way that connects (see list item number 2) is the key to making sure your website aligns to your business plan.

You don’t have to tackle this alone or be an expert in branding and websites. Your job is to be an expert in your organization’s mission and vision.

At P&P, we are experts in branding and website strategy. We love helping nonprofits and community-driven organizations achieve their business goals using brand strategy and user-focused websites. We’d love to learn more about your organization and your goals. Let’s talk.