Marketing is tricky. Some people love it, and some people hate it, but I think we can all agree that it can be tough. Think about it. You’ve just come up with a fantastic marketing plan, and you’ve started implementing it.
Good to go right? Well, not exactly. Step two is figuring out if it’s actually working, and learning to adapt if you decide that it isn’t. Today we’re going to look a couple of easy ways that you can measure whether or not your marketing is actually working.
Marketing: How Do I Know If It’s Working?
How Long Has Your Marketing Cycle Been Up?
A rookie mistake that I see a lot of business owners make is not leaving their marketing cycle up long enough. Don’t be that person! Marketing cycles, like anything worthwhile, need time to grow and prosper. You have to give it an opportunity to reach its full potential.
For example, if you had a newsletter that comes out every other month, you have to keep it going for a substantial amount of time. This will allow you to get through a couple of cycles so you can accurately see whether or not it’s working.
If you want to look more generally, I recommend a bare minimum of 6 months for something that comes out every month. Again, this healthy amount of time will set a nice foundation where you can analyze your progress.
What Does “My Marketing’s Working!” Mean To You?
Saying that something “is working” is a broad, subjective term. Something that’s working for someone else may not satisfy what you’re personally looking for. This is why it’s important to define your objective before starting a new marketing cycle.
Is your goal to get new clients?
Or is it to gain exposure in new areas?
Or maybe it is something else?
These types of questions are what you should be asking yourself when deciding whether or not if it’s working. You have to set your own goals and then simply look at the metrics to see if you reach them.
If your goal is gain new clients and you don’t, well then your marketing isn’t working! Time to try something new. While it’s important to stick to a strategy for a healthy amount of time, don’t be afraid to change it up now again if you’re not getting desired results. In the end, you have to choose something that meets and exceeds your goals!
Tracking Your Marketing is KEY
In order for you to accurately know if your marketing is meeting your goals, you absolutely have to track your it with numbers.
Knowing figures such as how many new clients you’ve gained or how many website hits you’ve gotten are important. If you don’t track your marketing, you may not know what you should attribute any changes in your business to.
A great way to track is to do an A/B Split Test. For example, try a strategy one way, then change it up a bit and do it slightly differently. Then compare and contrast! You’ll be able to fine tune your strategies and really see what works and what doesn’t. After doing this a couple times, you’ll have your technique nailed.
You can also use online programs such as Hootsuite to track your social media analytics. They also offer a 30 day free trial so you can see if it’s for you. Or, if you want to track your email marketing, try AWeber. They’ll help you keep track of your email clicks, subscribers and more.
What Does It All Mean?
Overall, only you will know if your marketing is working. You can definitely get lots of helpful feedback from a variety of resources – but in the end you have to do what you feel is right. With most things in business, you have to go with your gut. Don’t be afraid to step out of the box and completely scrap an idea if it’s not working – but at the same token, make sure you are giving it a chance to work!
Even more importantly – define your goals so you know whether or not you’re achieving what you want to achieve. Use the tools at your disposal like the online programs listed above as well as the people in your life. So there you have it. Yes, marketing can be tough, but there are so many ways in addition to what I’ve listed here that can help you simplify and expedite the process.
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get creative!
