According to research, 50% of small businesses do not have a marketing plan. Marketing can be stressful and overwhelming, especially if running your business is already time-consuming. Making a marketing plan and tracking marketing results will make a difference in how you generate business.
Here are five simple ways to track your marketing results.
1. Define What Success Means to You and Your Business
Measuring or tracking your marketing results is impossible without an agreed-upon definition of success. Maybe success means more click-backs on an email or social media ad or more website traffic.
On the other hand, success for you might have nothing to do with that and everything to do with sales and high ROIs. Before you can track marketing results, have a well-established definition of success.
2. Set Measurable Goals That Can Be Tracked Over Time
Your goals must be measurable. In other words, you need specific and objective goals for each new marketing campaign. If you don’t have your goals laid out, there will be confusion across the entire team.
For instance, the goal of “increasing monthly website traffic” is vague and hard to measure. But a goal of “increasing monthly website traffic by 10% over the next quarter as measured by analytics tool x” is clear and easy to measure.
3. Use Analytics Tools to Track Website and Social Media Traffic
Analytics tools are marketers’ best friends. These sophisticated software programs can tell you how many views a page has had, at what point customers left the page, how many clicks an item gets, and even if a promotional email was opened or not.
This information is invaluable to your marketing results. If a page isn’t generating views, you can address it. If customers leave a page at the same place, you can identify and fix the issue. Information is power, and analytics tools can provide endless helpful information.
4. Experiment With Different Marketing Channels and Analyze the Results
Experimentation is a pillar of the marketing world. By using various marketing campaigns for the same product, you can determine which is more successful and move in that direction.
For example, an A/B experiment splits your target audience and administers each group with a different marketing campaign, then tracks the performance of both. This and other experiments can give you critical insight into what your customers respond to.
5. Regularly Review Your Progress and Make Changes as Needed
Many experts recommend reviewing your progress as often as every week. Certainly, you should check in on your various marketing techniques at least every couple of weeks. If something isn’t generating the expected returns, make the necessary changes. The more you review your progress, the faster you can address issues.
Start Tracking Marketing Results
Marketing for your small business doesn’t have to be stressful. Use these tips like setting goals, data analytics, and experimenting with different channels, to begin tracking marketing results.
Call Elle Marketing and Events today for more help marketing your business.