Most people cringe at the mention of an audit, but in terms of marketing it’s much less daunting than the tax man. You can have a brilliant vision and strategy mapped out, but if you don’t know what’s working (or isn’t), you may be tossing money down the drain.
Make it a standard business practice to annually evaluate your marketing to uncover strengths and weaknesses, and to help identify new priorities. Consistently checking in will help ensure you are meeting your goals.
To get started, here are five areas we recommend you review to evaluate the current state of your marketing:
1.Conduct stakeholder interviews. This is all about alignment – of your mission, values and goals. It’s important that your stakeholders understand where you want to go before you set off down that path. If they don’t, it’s a good indicator that you may not be portraying your vision effectively or that internal communication is lacking.
- Know your competition. Make Sun Tzu proud. How do your competitors stack up against your offering? Look at everything from mission statements and brand promises, to services and pricing. Do they offer more or less than you? Is their brand strong? What are they doing really well? Knowing the answers to these questions will help you uncover what makes you truly unique.
- Assess your digital presence. Website, search, social media, reviews, email and paid media are all a part of your digital presence. Ensure that your messaging is consistent and that it’s reaching the right audience. There’s a lot of data available from each of these platforms, so use it to drive better results.
- Talk to your clients. Conduct buyer interviews to get at the heart of their decision to purchase from you (or not). What led them to need to buy? What did they expect from the purchase? What may have prevented them from buying? What competitors did they also consider? How did they make their final decision? Uncover their journey so you can effectively address each step along the way.
- Analyze your marketing materials. Again, look for consistency in branding and messaging. Which campaigns were successful and why? Does your marketing address the insights gained from the four areas above? Are there key pieces missing? Make sure that you are telling the right story to the right people.
If you have haven’t audited your marketing in a while (or ever), I strongly encourage you to invest time in it. Hopefully, your findings are exactly what you hoped them to be, but if they aren’t you will have a great start to improving on them. Then you can rest assured that your resources are dedicated to the right areas and your money is wisely spent.
If you would like to see an in-depth evaluation of your marketing, get in touchwith us today. Our proven process starts with a detailed analysis and list of recommendations for getting you back on track!
About the Author:
Joe is co-founder of yorCMO. Prior to founding yorCMO in 2017, he began pioneering video for new media in 2007, writing the book, New Media Habits, and launching the first company to focus exclusively on new media video production in Omaha, NE. It took him 6 years of trial and error to find the right niche in the sea of social media – strategic video production for nonprofits; then 3 years of tinkering to develop a sustainable business model. Frost Media Group operates in both Omaha and Kansas City.
