Annual Planning Strategies for Business Success

Introduction

Annual planning is a crucial endeavor for businesses, serving as a strategic instrument that encapsulates aspirations and tactical measures. Without a robust annual plan, businesses lack direction and hinder progress. Reflection on past achievements and setbacks sets the foundation for a thorough annual business review, incorporating a SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

SMART goals and an operational plan are essential for clear objectives and daily activities. Insights from business operations, client feedback, employee performance, and market trends shape a robust strategy. Setting a theory of change and outlining objectives and key results (OKRs) are vital for impactful planning.

Crafting a detailed timeline ensures systematic progress and timely goal fulfillment. Resource allocation, balancing ambition and practicality, optimizes marketing effectiveness. Risk assessment and contingency planning foster resilience.

Aligning cross-functional teams and departments through shared vision drives collective achievement. Quarterly planning breaks down annual goals into attainable targets. Flexibility and adaptability are crucial in navigating the dynamic business landscape.

Reviewing past performance and adjusting strategies sets the stage for future success. Budget estimations and financial projections provide a clear roadmap. Tracking progress and adjusting plans through key performance indicators ensure strategic alignment.

Successful annual planning meetings focus on productive gatherings that foster open dialogue and clearly define action items and responsibility. Annual planning is not merely a document but a strategic blueprint for success.

Why Annual Planning is Crucial for Business Success

Annual planning is not just an essential endeavor for guiding a business through the forthcoming year; it is a strategic instrument that encapsulates your company’s aspirations and the tactical measures required to achieve them. A robust annual plan serves as a beacon, ensuring that every tactic aligns with the growth and profitability objectives. The absence of this plan can result in a lack of coherent direction, hindering progress.

Reflecting on the past year’s achievements and setbacks is the cornerstone of strategic planning. It’s a time for scrutinizing whether the objectives set at the year’s start have been attained and understanding the factors contributing to the success or failure. This reflection is a springboard for a thorough annual business review, encompassing a SWOT analysis to identify your business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and to craft a strategy that builds on the positives while addressing the negatives.

Articulating SMART goals—specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely—is a crucial step in this process. It ensures that the objectives for the various functions of your business, like sales, marketing, operations, and finance, are clear and actionable. An operational plan that details the daily activities and structures of the company is equally important, serving as a blueprint that not only guides the creation of strategies and action plans but also facilitates the monitoring of progress and performance.

Furthermore, the annual review should involve a deep dive into business operations, client feedback, employee performance, and market trends. These insights are invaluable for crafting a robust strategy for the upcoming year. For instance, knowing your company’s standing in the competitive landscape and adapting to new market trends is vital for staying relevant and achieving long-term goals.

For organizations aiming to make an impact, setting a clear theory of change is crucial. This involves outlining the organization’s mission and specifying the objectives and key results (OKRs). An average of five OKRs is recommended to maintain a focused and impactful approach without overstretching resources.

In summary, an annual plan is a strategic asset that should be thoughtfully crafted, drawing from the past year’s learnings, aligning with the company’s long-term vision, and structured to adapt to market dynamics. This strategic foresight not only positions the business for success but can also be instrumental in securing funding from investors and lenders.

Key Components of an Annual Plan

Crafting a potent annual plan is a strategic conquest that encapsulates a myriad of vital elements, steering an organization on the path to triumph. It starts with the establishment of lucid, quantifiable objectives. Renowned researcher Edwin Locke highlighted the immense motivational power of specific and challenging goals, with his studies indicating that such targets invariably lead to better performance than vague or easy ones. Next, one must frame actionable strategies that answer the quintessential questions: Who is the target audience? What is the message being conveyed? And what avenues will be utilized to engage with them?

The plan should further unfurl a meticulous timeline that narrates the journey from a nascent marketing vision to a dynamic, operational strategy. This timeline becomes the heartbeat of your strategic endeavors, ensuring that every cog in the machine is synced and propelling the organization forward.

Resource allocation is another cornerstone of the annual plan. Whether it’s manpower, financial investments, or technological assets, each must be judiciously distributed to amplify the effectiveness of your marketing crusade. The wisdom here lies in finding the sweet spot between ambition and practicality—aim high but tether your goals to the ground realities of your resources.

A sagacious marketer never turns a blind eye to potential risks. Thus, the annual plan incorporates a thorough risk assessment and contingency planning. By foreseeing the challenges and preparing for unexpected turns, an organization can maintain steadiness even when sailing through turbulent waters.

Finally, the true essence of a successful plan is found in its ability to align cross-functional teams and departments. As evidenced by the unanimous approval of Burlington’s strategic work plan, a clear and shared vision fosters unity and concerted effort, laying down a solid foundation for collective achievement.

In sum, an annual plan is not merely a document—it’s a strategic blueprint, a declaration of intent, and a rallying cry that unites the entire organization under a singular, unwavering goal. It’s the narrative that shapes your market position and the tool that sharpens your competitive edge, ensuring that the journey ahead is not just envisioned but vigorously pursued.

Setting Clear, Measurable Goals

Embarking on annual planning starts with a pivotal step: establishing clear, measurable goals that echo the heart of your organization’s vision and mission. These are not just any goals—they’re the beacon that guides your business’s journey throughout the year, setting a benchmark for what success truly means. Consider the reflections of seasoned experts who emphasize the importance of pausing to celebrate past achievements before setting new objectives. This acknowledgment of what your team has accomplished fuels motivation and sets the stage for future triumphs.

To ensure these goals are not merely castles in the air, they must be specific and ambitious enough to push your team to new heights. Research by Edwin Locke shows that goals which are both specific and challenging significantly enhance focus and performance. In this way, goal setting becomes the homerun swing in your strategic planning—vital for stirring motivation and driving superior results.

Furthermore, conducting a SWOT analysis as part of your annual business review is critical. It allows you to take stock of your company’s strengths, such as a strong brand or skilled workforce, and leverage these assets to carve out a competitive edge. This analysis also uncovers potential opportunities and threats, providing a comprehensive understanding of your business landscape.

Reflect on your previous year’s resolutions and outcomes to inform your new goals. This retrospective look is not just an exercise in accountability but a strategic step to fortify your planning for the year ahead. By aligning your annual objectives with an overarching strategy, you create a cohesive roadmap that propels your products and services forward, ensuring every step taken is one towards innovation and success.

Developing Actionable Strategies

Crafting strategies to reach established goals is akin to plotting a journey towards a destination. It’s not enough to simply know where to go; one must also chart the course to get there. For businesses, this means transforming lofty ambitions into tangible tasks. Take, for example, the challenge of water conservation faced by Levi Strauss. To address this, they set clear water usage targets for 2025, aiming for increased production in facilities capable of recycling and reusing water. This not only demonstrates a commitment to sustainability but also a practical approach to tackling material Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues.

Consider this as a blueprint for your own strategy: identify the risks within your supply chain and seek out innovative solutions like watershed conservation. Establishing such detailed objectives, based on thorough risk assessment and opportunities, is crucial. But remember, innovation must be strategically linked. It’s not about blue-sky thinking; it’s about aligning each innovative step with the company’s growth priorities and unique strengths.

In a world where market competition commands rapid adaptation, with 79.7% of businesses needing to evolve every two to five years, the stakes are high. It’s not just about staying current but leveraging change to your advantage. As Bryan Solis’s research illustrates, competitive pressure is a significant catalyst for change, cited by 41% of surveyed businesses.

Starting with an audit of your data-and-AI maturity is a wise move, as suggested by expert Ayer. It’s a step that can help determine if your business requires a data product roadmap or a data modernization initiative. After all, personalization and convenience in customer experience are what distinguish today’s market leaders. How effectively you harness customer data can be the difference between staying ahead or falling behind.

Creating a Detailed Timeline

To achieve success in any business venture, a meticulously crafted project timeline is indispensable. It’s more than just a schedule; it’s a comprehensive visual representation of the sequence of tasks and milestones, delineating when each activity should kick off and draw to a close. This timeline is not just about keeping track of what needs to be done but also serves as a powerful tool for coordination and monitoring, ensuring systematic progress and timely fulfillment of project goals.

A compelling example of this is the annual business review, an exercise rooted deeply in strategic planning. It’s a time when businesses take stock of their journey, aligning their trajectory with long-term aspirations. A project timeline plays a crucial role here, as it aids in assessing whether goals have been met, understanding market positions compared to competitors, and identifying market trends that call for adaptation.

Consider the empirical data showing that a mere 10-minute investment in daily planning can result in saving up to two hours of work time. This statistic underscores the significance of a timeline in managing a business’s workflow, reducing low-value task engagement, and enhancing productivity.

Furthermore, an effective timeline transcends the realm of scheduling by fostering clear communication with stakeholders and equipping businesses to manage risks and challenges proactively. It instills a sense of accountability, driving productivity by setting deadlines and delineating responsibilities, which is essential in ensuring that an organization remains on a steadfast path toward achieving its objectives.

Allocation of Resources

The art of annual planning is not just about setting goals but also about the precise allocation of resources to achieve them. This strategic resource distribution spans across financial, human, and technological assets. Take, for instance, Toyota’s ambitious Woven Planet project, which aimed to create a universal software standard for its vehicles. Despite having a clear vision of integrating cars with technology, their execution was hindered by the lack of a proper zone management approach. The project envisioned an all-encompassing operating system connecting millions of vehicles with smart infrastructure, yet after three years, the result was an ambitious software concept that wasn’t ready for market integration. This underscores the importance of aligning visionary projects with realistic timelines and resource capabilities.

Costco offers a contrasting example, where a disciplined approach to resource allocation is practiced. Before launching any new service or product, they evaluate if it aligns with their profitability, competitiveness, and operational simplicity. This disciplined approach has kept them from succumbing to market pressures during the pandemic, like curbside delivery, which they believed wouldn’t be profitable.

In the dynamic world of marketing, leading the annual budget planning process is akin to navigating a ship through stormy seas. A marketing operations team member, in collaboration with a finance partner, can steer this process effectively, yet many find themselves in turbulent waters due to a disconnect between marketing objectives and financial strategies. Resource allocation, therefore, must be meticulously planned to ensure that the budget supports the desired content quality and quantity—be it high-quality videos or simple blog posts—while aligning with the overarching content strategy and schedule.

Supporting this idea, recent business literature emphasizes the significance of meticulous planning and execution in ambitious projects. The financial aspect of such projects, especially in the realm of IT, requires prudent management. Automation, for example, has been revolutionary in optimizing budgets by reducing manual tasks, thus freeing up financial and human resources for more strategic initiatives. It’s crucial to budget wisely for data-driven business needs, as the cost of data analytics tools can quickly deplete funds without careful planning. These examples highlight the balance between ambition and practicality in resource allocation, a balance that is vital for any successful annual plan.

Risk Assessment and Contingency Planning

For any business, the ability to foresee potential risks and craft effective contingency plans is crucial for the annual planning process. This forward-thinking approach is about more than just addressing immediate challenges; it’s about strategic foresight and preparation that ensures a business can remain dynamic and resilient in the face of adversity.

The art of risk assessment starts with a thorough examination of business operations, pinpointing activities or processes that could potentially cause harm. It’s not just about compliance; it’s about understanding the intricate web of potential roadblocks that could derail your business objectives. For example, analyzing accident records, product warnings, and industry-specific safety guidelines can illuminate the hazards that are unique to each trade, whether it’s carpentry or plumbing.

The importance of this exercise is reflected in the shifting landscapes of industries such as utilities in California, where the risk of wildfires presents a clear and present danger. The complexity of these risks, along with their economic and reputational implications, highlights the need for a nuanced approach to risk management.

In conjunction with risk identification, scenario planning plays a pivotal role. It’s a tool that has proven its worth in various contexts, particularly when uncertainty looms large. By considering a range of possible future scenarios, businesses can prepare for multiple outcomes, enhancing their ability to navigate through volatility.

This is where tools like Monte Carlo simulation come into play, providing a panoramic view of potential outcomes and their probabilities. This level of analysis is instrumental for decision-making, allowing businesses to weigh risks, sidestep pitfalls, and seize opportunities with greater confidence.

Furthermore, the interconnectedness of modern business means that disruptions in one area can have a ripple effect across the enterprise. The increased ranking of supply chain and distribution failures in risk surveys underscores this point. It’s not just about the physical movement of goods but also about cyber threats, business interruptions, and material scarcities that are often intertwined.

But knowing the risks isn’t sufficient. The communication of these potential pitfalls to stakeholders is equally important, as is the implementation of robust contingency plans. This approach to risk management is a cornerstone for any organization that aims to thrive, not just survive, in today’s fast-paced business environment. It’s about building a culture of reliability and resilience that can stand up to the tests of an ever-evolving market landscape.

The Role of SMART Goals in Annual Planning

Embarking on a new year means setting the stage for success with clear, actionable goals. The SMART framework offers a robust foundation for this process. But to truly align your business objectives with your company’s vision, consider adopting OKRs—Objectives and Key Results. This approach narrows your focus to around five critical objectives, striking a balance between ambition and practicality.

To craft an annual plan that’s both strategic and adaptable, gather your brightest minds and reflect on the previous year. What worked? What didn’t? Use these insights to align your upcoming strategy with the overarching company goals, ensuring every step you take is deliberate and contributes to your mission.

Your annual product plan should serve as a compass rather than a map, offering direction while allowing for flexibility in response to market shifts and customer feedback. The benefits of such planning are manifold: it fosters a strong connection between the product and the organization’s strategy, keeping teams focused on what truly matters.

Before you dive into setting new resolutions, take a candid look at your business’s current state. What are your strengths—such as a well-known brand or an expert team—that provide a competitive edge? Conducting a SWOT analysis will not only highlight areas for improvement but also reinforce your strategic advantages. With this comprehensive assessment, your goals for the upcoming year will be informed, relevant, and significantly more attainable.

Aligning Teams and Departments

To navigate the dynamic landscape of today’s business environment, annual planning must evolve beyond traditional budget cycles and embrace a more adaptive approach. Jurgen Appelo emphasizes that rigid yearly budgets can stifle an organization’s responsiveness. Instead, a well-orchestrated operational plan aligns teams, fostering collaboration and ensuring that all departments share a unified vision. It serves as a strategic blueprint, guiding actions and facilitating continuous improvement.

By integrating Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), companies can articulate clear, measurable goals that resonate across the entire organization. This methodology aligns individual and team initiatives with the company’s overarching aspirations, promoting accountability and adaptability. With an average of five OKRs, businesses strike a balance between ambition and attainability, ensuring impactful results without overextending resources.

Moreover, as Mark Phillips points out, a powerful vision for annual projects can unite stakeholders and inform decisions throughout the year. It’s not about detailing every step but setting a guiding star that aligns the product with the organization’s strategy, accommodating shifts in priorities and customer needs.

The operational plan’s effectiveness is further bolstered by regular reviews of performance and market position, as well as SWOT analysis, to refine strategies and maintain competitive edge. This continuous feedback loop, informed by monthly research updates and client feedback, ensures that the annual plan remains a relevant and flexible tool for steering the business towards success.

Quarterly Planning: Breaking Down Annual Goals

Quarterly planning transforms grand yearly objectives into attainable targets. It’s the art of distilling an overarching annual ambition into quarterly sprints that refine focus and accelerate progress. This strategy harnesses the power of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to crystallize what your organization aims to achieve, typically averaging around five pivotal goals to maintain clarity and impact.

Quarterly plans are akin to a compass rather than a map; they provide direction without confining you to a rigid path, allowing you to pivot as customer needs and market dynamics evolve. These 90-day cycles enable businesses to adapt their marketing strategies in real-time, aligning with market shifts and consumer behavior changes.

Implementing a quarterly marketing plan is a strategic move that doesn’t overshadow annual plans but complements them, offering multiple opportunities throughout the year to realign and optimize strategies for better outcomes. It’s a constant cycle of evaluation, reflection, and adaptation—where the previous quarter’s performance informs the next, ensuring that each step taken is synergistic with the company’s broader objectives.

For instance, Mustansir Paliwala of EQUANS suggests inserting an evaluation model into your sales funnel to identify opportunities for accelerating the sales cycle. This approach, similar to a work breakdown structure, breaks down the quarter into actionable tasks, driving the process forward with precision and intention.

As we approach the future, conducting a SWOT analysis can be invaluable, providing insights into your business’s strengths and the external opportunities ripe for capturing. It’s a strategy that not only assesses where you stand but also prepares you for where you’re headed. By embracing a quarterly action plan, you’re not just planning; you’re positioning your business at the vanguard of adaptability and success.

Flexibility and Adaptability in Annual Planning

The landscape of business is in perpetual motion, emphasizing the need for flexibility and adaptability in annual planning. As Jurgen Appelo states, clinging to yearly budgets is a relic that fails to accommodate the rapid changes in business environments. The concept of annual plans as a ‘guiding star’ rather than a rigid roadmap is becoming increasingly prevalent.

Businesses embracing this mindset often utilize Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to pinpoint their organization’s aspirations, averaging around five core objectives to maintain focus and impact. This approach aligns with the overarching strategy, ensuring that product teams can pivot in response to shifting customer needs without losing sight of their strategic direction.

Innovate UK underscores this philosophy, aiding small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in harnessing innovation for growth. They highlight the importance of adaptable digital products and services to navigate the dynamic innovation landscape. By supporting thousands of businesses, they demonstrate the tangible benefits of forward-thinking and adaptability.

Industry leaders advocate for a future-focused approach that evaluates emerging threats and opportunities. This holistic vision encompasses all facets of running a business, from project bidding to team management, and is considered vital for long-term success.

An annual business review is more than a retrospective—it’s a strategic tool. It involves goal assessment, market position analysis, and a SWOT analysis to inform a robust strategy for the year ahead. This deep dive into business operations, client feedback, and market trends is crucial in crafting a strategy that aligns team goals and sharpens business focus.

Ultimately, the annual review and planning process connects the dots between daily operations and strategic objectives, ensuring businesses are not merely reacting to change but proactively navigating it to stay ahead of the competition and seize emerging opportunities.

Reviewing Past Performance and Adjusting Strategies

An effective annual review is a cornerstone of business success, acting as a strategic compass that guides the organization towards its long-term objectives. This process is not just about reflecting on the past; it’s about shaping the future. By evaluating your company’s goal achievement and understanding the reasons behind any shortcomings or successes, you gain essential insights. A comprehensive market position analysis will reveal how your business stacks up against competitors and highlight necessary adaptations to new market trends.

Delving into operational facets, such as client feedback, employee performance, and market trends, will bolster your strategy for the year ahead, ensuring your team’s efforts are well-aligned and focused. The annual review is also a time to reflect on the efficacy of innovative approaches, assessing how your business has adapted to market shifts, customer preferences, and technological advancements.

A SWOT analysis, encompassing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, offers a structured approach to internal and external business evaluation. Identifying your internal strengths, such as a strong brand or skilled workforce, sets the stage for leveraging them in the coming year. Conversely, understanding weaknesses and threats allows for strategic planning to mitigate risks.

Financial performance analysis is another vital component, providing a clear view of your business’s fiscal health. By reviewing financial targets and actual outcomes through income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements, you can make informed decisions about future financial planning and resource allocation.

Lastly, turning to marketing and customer engagement, it’s crucial to review how well your business has connected with its audience. This reflection will guide how you shape your marketing strategies to foster stronger relationships and drive growth.

In essence, the annual business review is not just a look back but a strategic leap forward, setting the stage for informed decision-making and a clear path to achieving your business objectives.

Budget Estimations and Financial Projections

Strategic annual planning is a cornerstone of business success, and the lifeblood of this process is the budget. It is imperative for companies to create a project budget that meticulously details the anticipated expenses over the course of the project, which could span multiple quarters or even years. This budget serves as the financial blueprint that answers the critical question: ‘How much is this project going to cost?’

A comprehensive business budget encompasses both capital expenditure and operational costs. It reflects the company’s priorities and goals, underpinned by a clear understanding of cash flow. Historical data is invaluable here, providing a basis for realistic financial forecasting. By compiling at least three years’ worth of sales records, expense reports, and financial statements, businesses can discern patterns, seasonal variations, and long-term trends that inform their budgeting process.

In the world of data-driven decision-making, tools like Amazon QuickSight have emerged as indispensable for businesses seeking insights into their financial performance. With capabilities to interpret natural language queries, QuickSight empowers businesses to generate reports and uncover key insights effortlessly, making it an asset for any organization aiming to refine its budgeting and financial projections.

The annual business review is an integral part of this process, serving as a strategic checkpoint to assess whether the organization’s goals are being met, and how it measures up against its competitors. It’s a time for reflection on the ‘why’ or ‘why not’ behind achieving objectives, and a time to analyze the company’s market position.

As global examples show, from the detailed budget estimates presented by India’s Finance Minister to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and Russia’s increased defense spending, a well-planned budget is crucial for government and corporate entities alike. It represents a commitment to strategic financial planning and a roadmap for navigating the future with clarity and confidence.

Tracking Progress and Adjusting Plans

To navigate the ever-evolving business landscape, vigilance in tracking the progression of annual plans is paramount. With a strategic eye on key performance indicators, businesses gain the ability to pinpoint exactly where their strategies are flourishing and where recalibration is necessary. Take, for example, a company’s initiative to curtail greenhouse gas emissions. This endeavor, beyond its environmental implications, requires a meticulous breakdown of strategies into actionable practices and even further into sub-practices. It demands an analysis that cascades from the overarching goal down to the tangible steps like the adoption of renewable energy sources. Similarly, the application of Industry 4.0 technologies presents a blueprint for integration and optimization that can significantly boost operational efficiency and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), leading to cost reductions and enhanced performance metrics.

An annual business review transcends a mere checkpoint; it is a comprehensive strategic exercise. It encompasses not only a reflection on goals and market positioning but also a SWOT analysis that uncovers the internal dynamics of your business, such as core strengths and potential opportunities. This meticulous process of review and analysis is underscored by the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®), which annually revises its seasonal factors affecting the ISM® Manufacturing PMI® and ISM® Services PMI® reports. These adjustments reflect ISM’s commitment to empowering supply chain professionals with accurate, seasonally adjusted data to inform their strategic decisions.

In essence, the journey towards business success is navigated by continuously aligning your company’s trajectory with its established goals, ensuring that every pivot or strategy refinement is informed by data-driven insights and a clear understanding of the business’s strengths and the competitive landscape.

Best Practices for Successful Annual Planning Meetings

Effective annual planning is not just a series of meetings; it’s a strategic symphony that harmonizes the organization’s mission with actionable objectives. Crafting a theory of change, businesses clearly articulate their value proposition and set an average of five Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). This optimal number ensures that companies are impactful without being overextended. The annual plan serves as a high-level guiding star, not a detailed map, allowing product teams the flexibility to pivot as customer needs evolve. A thorough annual business review, including a SWOT analysis, provides a strategic checkpoint to ensure alignment with long-term goals. The review should scrutinize last year’s performance, market position, and align strategy with company objectives. According to key insights, with over a billion meetings held annually, the focus must be on productive gatherings that foster open dialogue and clearly define action items and responsibility. This approach to annual planning not only connects products to the broader organizational strategy but also ensures that time spent in meetings contributes to the company’s success rather than detracts from it.

Conclusion

In conclusion, annual planning is a crucial strategic instrument for businesses, providing direction and guiding their growth objectives. It involves reflection on past achievements and setbacks, incorporating a SWOT analysis. SMART goals and an operational plan ensure clear objectives and daily activities, while insights from business operations, client feedback, and market trends shape a robust strategy.

Setting a theory of change and outlining objectives and key results (OKRs) are vital for impactful planning, supported by a detailed timeline for systematic progress. Resource allocation balances ambition and practicality, risk assessment and contingency planning foster resilience, and aligning cross-functional teams drives collective achievement.

Quarterly planning breaks down annual goals into attainable targets, while flexibility and adaptability are crucial in navigating the dynamic business landscape. Reviewing past performance and adjusting strategies set the stage for future success, supported by budget estimations and financial projections.

Successful annual planning meetings focus on productive gatherings that foster open dialogue, clearly define action items, and promote responsibility. Annual planning is a strategic blueprint for success, motivating Chief Marketing Officers to overcome challenges and seize opportunities.

By incorporating practical advice and strategic foresight, businesses can navigate the ever-evolving market landscape and achieve long-term objectives. With a clear vision, adaptable strategies, and a collaborative approach, annual planning becomes a powerful tool for driving growth and success.

Take charge of your business growth with strategic annual planning. Sign up now!