How your business can sharpen its marketing strategy
How your business can sharpen its marketing strategy
Creating a marketing strategy for any company isn’t a “one and done” activity. As you’ve no doubt experienced, the approach you use to connect with your audience needs to adapt to factors such as the economy, marketplace changes, and customer and prospect preferences. Let’s take a step back and review some of the big-picture tasks associated with sharpening your marketing strategy.
Refine target selection
Consider each prospect, existing customer and target group as an investment. Estimate your net profit after subtracting production, sales and customer service costs.
More desirable customers will buy in sizable volumes with enough frequency to provide a steady income stream over time rather than serve as one-time or infrequent buyers. They’ll also be potential targets for cross-selling other products or services to generate incremental revenue.
Bear in mind that you must have the operational capacity to fulfill a prospect’s demand. If not, you’ll need to expand your operations to take on that customer, which will cost you more in resources and capital.
Also, be wary of becoming too dependent on a few large customers. They can use this status as leverage to lowball you. Or, if they decide to pull the plug, it could be financially devastating.
Adjust price points
Your price points are another key factor. It’s a tricky balance: Setting prices low may help attract customers, but it can also minimize or even eliminate your profit margin.
In addition, think about what payment terms you’re prepared to offer. Sluggish accounts receivable can strain cash flow. Establishing a timely payment schedule with customers is critical to sustaining operations and supporting the bottom line.
If you must spend a substantial amount of cash to set up a new customer, such as buying new equipment, consider offering initial pricing that includes a surcharge for a specified period. After you’ve recovered the cost of the equipment plus carrying charges, you might offer the customer a volume- or loyalty-based discount.
Craft your messaging
When you know who you want to sell to and what you’re going to charge, it’s time to craft your messaging. This is obviously the key step — literally marketing your products or services. So, clarity and consistency are key.
Begin by identifying your core value proposition. This is what sets your business apart from competitors. Communicate it in simple, direct language. Generally, you want to avoid jargon unless you’re working in a very specific context where industry terminology or technical knowledge is critical to sales. Be persuasive by providing remedies for your audience’s pain points.
You may need to tailor messaging to different market segments. For example, established customers usually respond best to a marketing message that reminds them of your company’s reliability and the total value of your mutually beneficial relationship. Meanwhile, prospects and newer customers probably need more persuasion and “proof of value.” Carefully choose the right marketing channels as well. These may include print, email, social media and in-person outreach.
Finally, watch out for inconsistency. Even if you vary your exact wording when addressing different market segments, your overall messaging needs to be uniform in look, tone and details. Disjointed communication — especially when it comes to things like pricing and product or service specifications — can sink a marketing strategy fast.
Today and tomorrow
An ineffective approach to marketing can quietly sap a company’s financial strength as sales leads diminish in number or value and competitors gain more attention in the marketplace. Conversely, a strong and timely marketing strategy can be a real revenue driver. We can analyze your marketing costs, as well as your price points, and help you develop a viable strategy for today and tomorrow.
© 2025
The IRS recently announced 2026 amounts for Health Savings Accounts
The IRS recently announced 2026 amounts for Health Savings Accounts
The IRS recently released the 2026 inflation-adjusted amounts for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Employees will be able to save a modest amount more in their HSAs next year.
HSA basics
An HSA is a trust created or organized exclusively for the purpose of paying the “qualified medical expenses” of an “account beneficiary.” An HSA can only be established for the benefit of an “eligible individual” who is covered under a “high-deductible health plan” (HDHP). In addition, a participant can’t be enrolled in Medicare or have other health coverage (exceptions include dental, vision, long-term care, accident and specific disease insurance).
Within specified dollar limits, an above-the-line tax deduction is allowed for an individual’s contribution to an HSA. This annual contribution limitation and the annual deductible and out-of-pocket expenses under the tax code are adjusted annually for inflation.
Inflation adjustments for next year
In Revenue Procedure 2025-19, the IRS released the 2026 inflation-adjusted figures for contributions to HSAs. For calendar year 2026, the annual contribution limitation for an individual with self-only coverage under an HDHP will be $4,400. For an individual with family coverage, the amount will be $8,750. These are up from $4,300 and $8,550, respectively, in 2025.
There’s an additional $1,000 “catch-up” contribution amount for those age 55 or older in 2026 (and 2025).
An HDHP is generally a plan with an annual deductible that isn’t less than $1,700 for self-only coverage and $3,400 for family coverage in 2026 (up from $1,650 and $3,300, respectively, in 2025). In addition, in 2026, the sum of the annual deductible and other annual out-of-pocket expenses required to be paid under the plan for covered benefits (but not for premiums) can’t exceed $8,500 for self-only coverage and $17,000 for family coverage. In 2025, these amounts are $8,300 and $16,600, respectively.
Advantages of HSAs
There are a variety of benefits to HSAs. Contributions to the accounts are made on a pre-tax basis. The money can accumulate tax-free year after year and can be withdrawn tax-free to pay for a variety of medical expenses such as doctor visits, prescriptions, chiropractic care and premiums for long-term care insurance. In addition, an HSA is “portable” — it stays with an account holder if he or she changes employers or leaves the workforce. Contact us if you have questions about HSAs at your business.
© 2025
Mission and vision statements help businesses rise above the din
Mission and vision statements help businesses rise above the din
Many of today’s businesses operate in a cacophonous marketplace. Everyone is out blasting emails, pushing notifications and proclaiming their presence on social media. Where does it all leave your customers and prospects? Quite possibly searching for a clear perception of your company.
One way — well, two ways — to rise above the din is to craft a mission statement and a vision statement. Although they may seem like superfluous marketing exercises to some, these two statements can help clarify your identity to customers and prospects. They can also matter to lenders, investors, the news media and job candidates.
Why you’re here
Let’s start with the mission statement. Its purpose is to express to the world why you’re in business, what you’re offering and whom you’re looking to serve. For example, the U.S. Department of Labor has this as its mission statement:
To foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.
Forget flowery language and industry jargon. Write in clear, simple, honest terms. Keep the statement brief, a paragraph at most. Answer questions that any interested party would likely ask. Why did your company go into business? What makes your products or services worth buying? Who’s your target market?
You know the answers to these questions. But distilling them into a clear, concise mission statement can do more than raise your visibility in the marketplace. It may also help renew your commitment to your original or actual mission or reveal where you’ve gotten off track.
With a mission statement in place, you can engage in more focused strategic planning. Moreover, it helps boost employee engagement, serving as a driving philosophy for everyone. And as mentioned, the right mission statement really is a marketing asset: It tells the buying public precisely who you are.
Where you’re going
So, what does a vision statement do? It tells interested parties where you’re going; that is, what you want to accomplish.
A vision statement should be even briefer than your mission statement. Think of it as a tagline for a movie or even an advertising slogan. You want to deliver a memorable quote that will get readers’ attention and let them know you’re moving into a future where you’ll provide the highest quality products and services in your industry.
Whereas a mission statement is anchored in the present, a vision statement focuses on the horizon. For instance, the mission statement of the Alzheimer’s Association is:
The Alzheimer’s Association leads the way to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support.
But its vision statement is simply: “A world without Alzheimer’s and all other dementia.”
Create a vision statement that’s a rallying cry for your company. Don’t be afraid to be aspirational, bold and appeal to people’s emotions. Remember, this isn’t where you are, it’s where you intend to go.
How to proceed
Creating mission and vision statements can be a fun, creative way to unite a company. If you already have both, well done! But don’t forget that you can still revisit and refine the language. And if you ever decide to do a major marketplace pivot or even undergo a business transformation, you’ll likely want to rewrite your mission and vision statements entirely.
© 2025