Do you ever feel like you’re gambling with your marketing budget? In the ever-evolving world of marketing, it can be hard to put your finger on the exact formula that guarantees a great return on investment for your marketing dollars.
So how can you tell if your most recent campaign has been a huge success or an utter failure? We’ll show you 3 steps you can take to find out.
1. Establish Your KPIs
Judging your marketing strategy’s success doesn’t just boil down to the bottom line. Nor should you try to look at every single piece of data you can get your hands on to find your answers. Attempting such a feat would leave you completely overwhelmed! This is where defining your brand’s Key Performance Indicators comes in.
Every brand’s KPIs will be different, even if they’re direct competitors. It’s important to know what you expect from your marketing strategy. What are the goals you’re trying to reach? Are you trying to grow your email list? Or are you more focused on decreasing your cost per acquisition? If you’re having trouble narrowing down your KPIs, Klipfolio has a great breakdown that may help.
Once you know what your goals are, you can select the metrics that best reflect if you’re meeting them. By narrowing down the data you focus on, you’ll save yourself both time and a headache.
2. Monitor Your Analytics
Once you know what your KPIs are, how can you track them? That’s where analytics come in. Luckily for you, most marketing platforms provide their users with free in-depth analysis right at their fingertips.
A prime example is Google Analytics, a veritable goldmine of data that can tell you exactly how users are finding and interacting with your website. A page’s bounce rate, best performing keywords, and ways to segment your audience so you can better understand your customers are just a few of the things analytics can tell you about your site. If there’s data to be measured, it’s in there.
Tools like Google Analytics are a fantastic way to monitor your KPIs and judge the success of your marketing strategy but they can be a little intimidating. If you aren’t sure where to start, look for tutorials like this great intro to Google Analytics by Neil Patel.
3. Ask for Feedback
Another great way to judge the strengths and weaknesses of your marketing strategy is to ask your customers directly. How did they hear about you? What do they enjoy about your brand? What can you do better?
Brands that prioritize the customer experience, like Disney, use software like Qualtrics to gather the information they need to deliver a spectacular customer experience. You can also create your own customer surveys using free services like SurveyMonkey. Send the survey to your email list and let your users tell you what you’re getting right and what you need to improve upon.
An added bonus to asking your users for feedback is that surveys build trust and brand loyalty. Not only will your customers feel valued by being asked for their personal opinion, but, after you’ve mined the results for data, you can also utilize positive responses (with the customer’s permission) as testimonials on your site, lending your brand authenticity.
Knowing your KPIs ahead of time and monitoring their progress via analytics is a great way to know, on paper, if your marketing strategy is successful. Getting feedback directly from your customers will help complete the picture and cover any gaps the numbers might have missed.