By this point in Q4, most teams are juggling two realities: wrapping the current year and trying to sketch out a plan for the next. And in that crunch, it’s easy to default to repeating last year’s goals, refreshing the same dashboards, and hoping for slightly better results.

But the brands that consistently grow year after year?
They pause long enough to ask better questions.

This is the heart of our 2026 Growth Planning Workbook - and the same approach we use internally with our clients across fashion, beauty, wellness, and DTC.

If you’re finalizing your 2026 plan, here are the five questions we believe every brand should answer before locking anything in.

1. “What actually worked this year - and why?”

This is where most planning conversations begin and end. But the real insight comes from understanding the why behind the results.

Yes, knowing which channels or campaigns drove revenue is helpful.
But equally important:

• What felt aligned with your brand?
• Where did your team feel energized instead of depleted?
• Which partnerships or agencies made the biggest difference?
• Which messages or moments sparked genuine customer response?

Good planning isn’t about repeating what worked.
It’s about identifying what mattered.

This is the first exercise in our workbook, and it often leads to unexpected clarity.

2. “Where did we waste time, money, or energy?”

Every brand has at least one answer to this—and it’s almost always the thing everyone quietly knows but hasn’t said out loud.

Sometimes it’s an underperforming channel that keeps getting budget.
Sometimes it’s a tool that the team never fully adopted.
Sometimes it’s simply… the wrong priorities.

One of the most valuable parts of planning for 2026 is deciding what not to bring with you.

Letting go is a growth strategy.

3. “How is our audience changing - and what does that mean for us?”

The brands that win in 2026 will be the ones who evolve with their customers, not just their competitors.

A few questions we encourage teams to explore:

• What did your customers respond to emotionally this year?
• How are their online behaviors shifting?
• What emerging platforms or communities actually feel relevant?
• How might AI shape their expectations for personalization and service?

Trends matter, but alignment matters more.
Your brand doesn’t need to chase everything.
Just the things that deepen connection.

4. “What are the three things we must accomplish next year?”

Not ten things.
Not fifteen buckets.
Three.

When our strategists guide clients through annual planning, we focus on three pillars - or what we call Growth Anchors:

• A revenue anchor
• A brand/storytelling anchor
• A customer/experience anchor

Everything else ladders up to these.

This is the moment where teams usually shift from “we should” to “we will.”
And that’s where real growth lives.

5. “What support, resources, or partners will we need to do this well?”

This is the question teams often skip - and the one that derails even the best plan.

If your goals require new skills, new workflows, or simply more hands, the time to plan for that is now, not halfway through Q1.

Ask yourself:

• Do we need strategic support or executional support?
• Are we trying to scale channels that no one truly owns internally?
• Are we relying on tools we haven’t fully leveraged?
• Where would expert guidance unlock faster, cleaner results?

This is why we created the workbook: to help teams get honest about what they can own and where a partner (like us) can help accelerate growth.

Final Takeaway: Better Questions Lead to Better Plans

A strong marketing plan isn’t a list of tactics or a recycled spreadsheet—it’s a reflection of your brand’s identity, momentum, and vision for the future.

When brands pause to ask deeper, more honest questions, they build plans that feel grounded, purposeful, and aligned with who they are—not who they think they’re supposed to be.

If you’re ready to bring more clarity into your 2026 planning, our workbook is a simple place to start.

→ Download the SLTC 2026 Growth Planning Workbook

or

→ Book a complimentary planning session with our team