As 2013 gets off to a start and people everywhere are making New Year’s resolutions, it is a great time to think about our organizations’ plans and goals for marketing in the coming year. Based on what I’ve seen in 2012, I’ve come up with three simple New Year’s resolutions for marketing teams in all kinds of organizations.

1. Go mobile. As more and more people use their mobile device as their primary tool for information seeking, online shopping, social media, and surfing the web, it is increasingly important for companies to make their marketing websites accessible on mobile. User experience is becoming increasingly important, and if a client has trouble using your website, they may turn to a competitor who has a more user-friendly responsive site.

2. Be resourceful. For the past 20 years I have driven by a building that I’ve always wondered about. It is located right on Presidio Parkway, a main artery that leads to the heart of San Francisco. Thousands of cars drive on it in and out of the city everyday. The white stucco walls never had any signage until a week ago when a simple banner appeared: the Presidio YMCA. It was genius. Not only was my lingering curiosity satisfied, now every single person driving in and out of the city knew that the YMCA is there. And I would bet that the Presidio YMCA will see a huge spike in registrations because of that signage. Good marketing doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate; sometimes your best campaigns come from the resources you already have.

3. Stay in touch. In an age when happenings are reported on twitter before it even breaks the news wire, we need to be connected to current events. Through facebook, twitter, and news apps, our customers are more connected than ever, and as organizations, we need to be too. Lately, Rue La La, an online shopping company showed its solidarity to the Sandy Hook community by sending an email linking to a donation site for the families of the victims. This simple reaction to current events not only showed their support but also was widely acclaimed by its patrons on social media. Staying in the know shows that we as organizations care about what is going on, and connect us to our users in unique and meaningful ways.

2012 was a great year, and with thoughtful planning and intuitive insights, 2013 can be an even more creative, fun, and innovative year for marketing teams everywhere. Cheers!