Assessing 2011: Measure Marketing Results
As we look toward 2012 with desires and goals for our business we should look back briefly and take stock of 2011. As the scope of this blog is about marketing, we will be focusing on that.
I have personally been faced with the popular statement of insanity 'doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome'!
Opportunity for improvement
When it first hits you that you may be "insane," your initial response may be one of anger, or wanting to throw in the towel. However, the realization that there may have been some "insanity" going on is really an opportunity to assess the situation and make improvements.
How do you feel about the marketing activities you have participated in during the past year? Are there clear successes, in which case you'd want to repeat them? Are there clear bloopers which you definitely want to change, or risk insanity next year? And finally, are there grey areas?
Results are part of the marketing puzzle
To answer these questions you have to have been tracking results. Clear winners and losers may be obvious regardless of tracking, though you might be surprised to find a clear winner hidden in another place if you had all the data. The larger grey area will definitely need closer inspection.
If you are asking yourself 'where is this data?' then you may want to consider your first goal in 2012 — implementing marketing tools that will give you this data.
Close the loop - know your customers
If you track leads but don't know where your customers are coming from, then you have a HUGE grey area in your marketing. One clear example is using pay-per-click advertising. You essentially pay to get someone to your website, a very viable method. If you get that person to become a lead, do you know when and if they ever become a customer? A pot of gold has been spent. What is the return? Is there any? Do you know? If you are not tracking where your customers are coming from, you can continue to do the same thing over and over and not know the results. 'Not knowing' and 'not having' sound very similar.
For 2012, I challenge you to do something about increasing your awareness, not by gut feelings, but backed up by data.
Small and mid sized businesses need to be in the game, if just to keep their sanity. Ask us how we can help you keep yours!
