How to check your marketing methods are working

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10/06/2018

If you don’t measure the results of your promotions, you’ll never know what methods have actually driven new business. It’s crucial to find out which tactics delivered the best results. This may not be the last time you really push to promote your goods or services to potential new customers, so make the most of it and analyse how you performed.

• Make sure all of the promotional methods you’re using can be tracked and measured. For instance, if you’ve invested some money in getting your website optimised for online search, it’s important to keep track of traffic to your website so you know if it’s working.
• Generate statistics which demonstrate how your campaign has done. A visualisation of the performance will help you to tell at a glance if you’re achieving your objectives or falling short.

Making use of easily-evaluated tactics

Consider using tactics that are easier to evaluate post-promotion, such as:

• Coupons that are attached to your advertising campaigns. You'll be able to tell how well it's working just by the number of coupons redeemed. You can also track whether the person who redeemed the coupon bought something else at the same time. If they haven't, it's time to look at your up-selling and cross-selling techniques.
• Codes to access special offers through your website. Like coupons, you can tell how many are using them just by the website data. When someone uses a code to gain access to a special offer, you can also give them the opportunity to purchase a complementary item.
• Online tracking that shows the origins of your web traffic. This is especially important if you've invested in search optimisation, but all business owners should be using it to measure the effectiveness of their online presence.
• Keep an eye on your social media followers. This is an easy way to find out if your social media tactics are working – are you gaining more followers? Use Facebook Insights to track your followers and interactions to see if you’re building momentum.

Monitor your website’s results using tools like Google Analytics and start asking customers how they found out about your business.

By measuring your promotions you’ll find out which tactics deliver results. Your next promotional plan can then focus on the winners, fine-tune the averages, and eliminate the unproductive.

Make sure you're on track

Once your plan gets underway, it’s important to track your progress. Check that your objectives are clear and well targeted. It’s a good idea to re-assess your plan at the end of each 30-day period.

• Check in with staff and discuss how they’re getting on implementing the tactic, and what feedback’s been like. Ask if they have any ideas on how it could be improved.
• Measure every promotional idea for effectiveness, and make sure that you’re not sacrificing profit and margin just to increase gross sales.
• Keep an eye on the budget. Whether you’ve assigned an overall amount, or a specific amount for individual objectives, it’s important to make sure that you’re not overspending or to identify where you might benefit from spending a little bit more.
• Make sure you’re getting a reasonable Return on Investment (ROI) for the amount you’ve allocated. If there are tactics that aren’t paying off, consider ditching them and reallocating the funds to something more profitable.

Summary

Great marketing comes down to how well you know your customers, and how much time you’re prepared to spend researching their wants and buying behaviour. The better you know them, the more effectively you’ll be able to tailor your marketing strategy to target them. Don’t be afraid to update your marketing plan and budget if you feel that you’re not achieving results.