An article I wrote a while back has gotten new wind because I received a slew of emails lately because of it! (Thanks!) Of those emails, there were two questions that were the most asked:
(1) “I launched my marketing campaign months ago/ am involved in various marketing activities but did not set up a system for tracking tangible data prior to starting. What do I do to measure their performance now rather than waiting another three months to collect data?”
(2) “What types of things do I need to do to be able to collect data that I can review for marketing effectiveness?”
Right now, we’re going to tackle the first question and in the article after that, I’ll have the answer to question two. Sound like a plan? Great. Here we go…
I have two main pieces of advice for those of you who have marketing activities in progress but no means to track their performance. Since you don’t have unbiased data to complete an objective analysis, you must settle for a subjective analysis of the information that you do have. “What information do I have?” you say. Data you’ve created, of course! More specifically, you’ll have to use the objectives that you set prior to launching your marketing activities. If you did not set marketing objectives prior to implementing your marketing activities, write them now. Caution: Write only three to four objectives you hope your marketing will achieve. Be specific. Normally, you should have specific objectives for each target audience. However, to simplify the process at this juncture, set objectives that are appropriate for all of your target audiences.
To begin your assessment, you should make a list of your active marketing activities. Focus only on those activities that have been underway for at least three months. Since you will be assessing multiple activities using the same criteria (ie. your objectives), I suggest that you create a chart. Input your current marketing activities, one below the other, down the far left column; list your marketing objective(s) across the top of the chart, one beside the other. Then, sit down and prepare to complete an objective assessment of their effectiveness. Next, ask yourself: “How well is X marketing activity meeting each marketing objective I set?” Write your thoughts in the appropriate box for each marketing activity and objective.
Once you’ve filled in the entire chart, go back and review your responses. Highlight the marketing activities that meet all of your marketing objectives. Circle the activities that currently meet at least ¾ of your objectives. Finally, mark a single red line through all other marketing activities remaining. The activities that you highlighted are those that you should definitely continue with. Activities that are circled are “fence-line” activities; they have the potential to work well but need to be adjusted to truly benefit your business. The marketing activities through which you’ve drawn a line are marketing activities that you should discontinue. That’s not to say they are not good marketing tactics but rather than they are not right for your business as they are currently planned / implemented and will need to be redesigned if you decide to use them again in the future.
Again, this will be a highly subjective assessment of the marketing activity’s performance effectiveness. Therefore, it’s not ideal; an objective assessment based on actual data is ideal. Still, a subjective assessment is better than no assessment at all. That leads me to my second suggestion for this group: Start tracking how each of the marketing activities you plan to keep perform…this week!
As always, if you have a marketing question that you would like me to answer, send me an email me. Oh, and remember to check back for the answer to question two above. Talk to you then!
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Q1 Marketing Management, Not Marketing Mayhem
“What do I do? Where do I start? How do I do it all without overextending my budget?” Those are the top concerns clients express when they sit down with me for a marketing consultation. And, if you’re anything like the entrepreneurs that I work with, I suspect those same questions have kept you awake many a night as you consider how to market your business. Well, I guarantee that you will sleep better this year if you take a few minutes to not only read my blog regularly but to participate in it! So, with that promised, here’s your first lullaby…
It's January; the first month of the first quarter of the new year. That means that, in theory, you should be launching your first round of marketing for the year. However, to do that, you would have had to create this year’s marketing plan last year in the third quarter (at the latest) and finished production on those marketing efforts in the fourth quarter. That’s the theory of how it should be done. In practice, it’s a rarity that small business owners are able to follow that time line, most commonly because of lack of timely planning or money. So, if that’s your situation, don’t feel bad. Instead, feel compelled to get back on track by hunkering down and tackling the following actions this week:
ACTION 1: Audit last year’s marketing activities. Note which strategies and tactics were successful for which audiences and which were not. Which resulted in your greatest response?
ACTION 2: Look back at your books. How much did you spend on marketing last year overall? Next, create an itemized list of the activities and costs. Which of last year’s marketing activities gave you the most bang for your buck?
ACTION 3: Review the types of consumers you attempted to attract. Which are still viable target audiences? Are there new consumer segments that you should focus on instead?
ACTION 4: Consider the current economic client. How has it affected your consumers’ perceived need / desire for and ability to purchase your products or services?
ACTION 5: Set your marketing budget. Based on last year’s cash flow, estimate how much money you can you afford to spend (monthly or quarterly) on marketing activities this year.
If you have detailed records to help you assess the above, use them to paint a vivid picture of your current situation as it relates to marketing; if you don’t, an informal assessment will suffice. The point is to be introspective about last year to gain perspective on how to improve this year. This is the initial analysis that you’ll need to do to assess what you should be doing in regard to your 2014 marketing efforts.
You think you can manage that? Sure you can!
One final note before I go: Now, while I certainly can (and will) write articles and give tips on a plethora of topics, it’s my hope that this blog won’t be a one-sided conversation. Therefore, I invite you to email me with your marketing questions. Let me know which tactics you’re considering, what’s worked for you and what hasn’t. After all, this The Lofty Entrepreneur blog is all about building stronger businesses and smarter business owners.
It's January; the first month of the first quarter of the new year. That means that, in theory, you should be launching your first round of marketing for the year. However, to do that, you would have had to create this year’s marketing plan last year in the third quarter (at the latest) and finished production on those marketing efforts in the fourth quarter. That’s the theory of how it should be done. In practice, it’s a rarity that small business owners are able to follow that time line, most commonly because of lack of timely planning or money. So, if that’s your situation, don’t feel bad. Instead, feel compelled to get back on track by hunkering down and tackling the following actions this week:
ACTION 1: Audit last year’s marketing activities. Note which strategies and tactics were successful for which audiences and which were not. Which resulted in your greatest response?
ACTION 2: Look back at your books. How much did you spend on marketing last year overall? Next, create an itemized list of the activities and costs. Which of last year’s marketing activities gave you the most bang for your buck?
ACTION 3: Review the types of consumers you attempted to attract. Which are still viable target audiences? Are there new consumer segments that you should focus on instead?
ACTION 4: Consider the current economic client. How has it affected your consumers’ perceived need / desire for and ability to purchase your products or services?
ACTION 5: Set your marketing budget. Based on last year’s cash flow, estimate how much money you can you afford to spend (monthly or quarterly) on marketing activities this year.
If you have detailed records to help you assess the above, use them to paint a vivid picture of your current situation as it relates to marketing; if you don’t, an informal assessment will suffice. The point is to be introspective about last year to gain perspective on how to improve this year. This is the initial analysis that you’ll need to do to assess what you should be doing in regard to your 2014 marketing efforts.
You think you can manage that? Sure you can!
One final note before I go: Now, while I certainly can (and will) write articles and give tips on a plethora of topics, it’s my hope that this blog won’t be a one-sided conversation. Therefore, I invite you to email me with your marketing questions. Let me know which tactics you’re considering, what’s worked for you and what hasn’t. After all, this The Lofty Entrepreneur blog is all about building stronger businesses and smarter business owners.
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