Sometimes It is hard to tell if marketing is really working or not just by looking at the external, customer-facing channels. Us marketers love to create new ideas and launch those ideas so that something new is always getting out to the customers. That may be a good thing, and it may look incredible, but how do we really know if the marketing is performing the way it should? The truthful answer is, we don’t always know. Here we take a look at two areas, both need careful attention and a thoughtful strategy in order to get them to perform at the highest level possible. It’s not an easy job. That’s why we are tackling the concept in this article.
Customer-Facing Initiatives
Here are a few things that can be deceiving. These can provide customer “likes” and a feeling of “this company looks good to me.”
- Design and Editorial Quality
- Number of Social media likes and posting frequency
- Website looks good with imagery and editorial content
- Web Display / Retargeting Banners
- Print Ads / TV / Radio
Even though the above items look great, the behind the scenes inner-workings of the marketing may not be so good. Here are several potential breakdowns that may cause your performance to decline and your efficacy to be far less than desired.
Problems Behind The Scenes
- Marketing strategy and plan is not clear and actionable
- Not understanding your brand’s personas and their motivations for purchasing
- If there is not a timeline and tactical plan in place for executing campaigns
- Content is key. If you don’t have a strategy and calendar in place, your content will be haphazard at best – not effective
- Using the right technology for the right reasons is absolutely critical. Trying to save money and use technology tools for a task they are not designed is common. Use technology to accomplish a goal and leverage it as much as possible
- Customer conversion path: Map-out a conversion path starting with every touch point all the way to purchase
- Measurement: Are you monitoring key areas and measuring those to review what’s effective and not effective?
If we were to analyze our marketing strategy, process and tactics we should look at all of these 12 items listed above. The external, customer facing items as well as the internal, behind the scenes items. Monitoring all of them will provide you with a glimpse of the ongoing performance of how they work together.
Yourbrandexposed.com is designed to look at digital with an eye into the future using a creative, innovative marketing perspective. We’re a consultative and tactical resource for companies looking to leverage the power of digital, social and content marketing strategies.
Scott MacFarland
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Twitter:@scmacfarland
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Email:Yourbrandexposed@yahoo.com
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