Am I doing this right?

“How do I know if I’m doing this right?”  That is the burning marketing question that almost all of our clients approach us with when we start our first conversation.

It’s hard to know if you are moving the needle, and without indicators (measurement), companies frequently move away from marketing – or worse – abandon one marketing tactic to try another before really knowing if something is working.

So how do you know if you should keep at it?  Here is a four step process to measure your effort:

1. Set clear goals. If leads come from referrals, then think about all the touchpoints you have before someone makes a referral. Measure each touchpoint.

2. Create a routine for looking at measurement.  Now that you know your touchpoints, what routines do you have to put in place to ensure you are tracking the indicators to ensure your marketing is working? (Hint: it is not good enough to have a CRM, you have to use it consistently.)

3. Look at your indicators. You have the defined indicators (measurement), and the routine for tracking, you now have to actually look at them.  Set a regular time to do it. Not once a year. Do it at least quarterly, and monthly if you are ambitious (weekly is best, but let’s get the habit started first!).

4. Be real.  We see this all the time.  The justifications and the “ands, ifs and becauses” that excuse results.  Be real.  If your system is not right then the results are not right. Ask, “Are we being accurate in tracking, do we have the right system?”  If the answer is yes, then ask, “Have we given this the right amount of time?”

Only after you have done these 4 steps do you start to tweak your strategy.  Be patient and stick to your goals, measure them and then react.

Where is your biggest frustration with your marketing strategy?