5 Keys to a Successful Marketing Strategy

Whether you have a multi-million dollar advertising and marketing budget, or one where every dollar is a big investment, three things remain consistent. Strategy matters. Marketing effectiveness matters. And knowing how hard your marketing dollars are working matters.

Effective marketing campaigns come in all shapes and sizes. If you don’t have the budget to execute campaigns like Nike, Budweiser or E-Trade, it doesn’t mean you can’t see a great return on your investment. Continue reading for 5 ways to create an effective marketing campaign.

1. Know & Understand Your Audience.  
Being in tune with the channels your audience uses and relates to could be the single most effective key to spending your dollars wisely. Is your target market searching the Internet, trusted networks or locating professionals in trade magazines? Understanding how your audience locates professionals could be the best way to get pointed in the right direction.

2. Strive for the Highest Level of Professionalism.
Maintain a high level of professionalism regardless of your message and target audience. Your marketing messaging can be funny, strong, or even emotional while maintaining the highest level of professionalism.

3. Include Your Contact Information – Everywhere.
Including your contact information on advertisements, web pages, and all forms of communication might seem like a no-brainer, but we see companies missing this opportunity on a regular basis. If a potential client wants to contact you, make it as easy as possible.

4. Track Your Marketing Effectiveness.
Marketing is part intuition and part science. If you can’t tell which components of your marketing plan are effective and which are not, you are missing the opportunity to fine-tune the way you spend marketing dollars. The following tools can help you make educated decisions on what advertising media you employ:

• Install Google Analytics on Your Website.

This free tool allows you valuable insight to the money you spend online. You can see how many clicks are coming into your website, where they are coming from, how long they stay on your site, what pages they visit and what keywords they used to find you.

• Utilize Call Tracking Numbers on Print Ads.

Print ads and billboards are the ‘black hole’ of advertising dollars. You know publication distribution numbers, target market, monthly views and cost, but many times you do not know what clients you garner from these channels. Implement call tracking numbers to determine what calls come directly from those methods. 

• Ask Inbound Leads How They Found Your Business

Do you know how people are  finding your business? Ask them. Professionals are often hesitant to ask this question because callers are very busy, but saying something like ‘How did you hear about our business’ is a non-threatening way to find out a lot about your marketing plan. 

Keep a call tracking sheet and write the answers down. This will help you get an accurate gauge of what is working and what is not.

5. Know When to Walk Away – Know When to Run.
When you analyze your marketing, it should be very clear what is working and what is not. Knowing when to cut your losses will save you time and money in the long run.
 
Take the time and make the effort to know how hard your marketing dollars are working for your business.