As we approach the end of Q1, it’s an opportune time to review your 2021 marketing efforts thus far. You can’t take a “set it and forget it” approach with your marketing plan. Marketing works best when it’s regularly reviewed, analyzed and adjusted as needed.
At MMC, we review performance metrics a part of our monthly marketing meetings with clients. It helps us know what content is resonating with our target audience and what isn’t. There are several measurements of your marketing efforts that you may consider:
Analyze the Analytics – Google Analytics provides detailed data on visits to your website and the most popular pages users are accessing, among other metrics. Google Analytics is free and can help you answer questions like: How many people read the latest blog post? Why has web traffic increased the past two months? What on this page has people spending so much time on it?
Surveille the Numbers – Tracking the numbers is an easy way to determine if your marketing plan is working but it is not sufficient to simply look at revenue. Marketing will have a greater impact on the quantity of leads generated than, say, conversion of leads already generated and currently being nurtured by sales in their pipeline. Consider lead quality, too, when evaluating the effectiveness of your marketing program. Attracting the attention of a large number of unqualified buyers simply skews your metrics and doesn’t help revenue.
Check Out Your Customer Response – Online reviews, surveys and other means of feedback can reveal what your customers think of your marketing. Be brave and ask your customers directly and often about what they think. Invite them to participate in public survey tools and document their experiences with the likes of Google and Yelp.
Sign in to the Social Scene – Social media is the new word-of-mouth. Encourage your customers to engage with you in the social space. LinkedIn and Facebook provide metrics on their platforms in terms of impressions, engagement and connections.
Ultimately, the question to ask is, “Am I seeing the return on my marketing investment?” By routinely measuring the muscle of your marketing plan, the answer should be clear.
An additional benefit of measuring your efforts monthly? It makes it easier to review the year as a whole when it’s time to put that marketing plan together for next year.
This post is courtesy of MMC Account Manager Jen Kardian