Do You Make This Mistake With Your Marketing?

If, as a business owner or CEO, you can’t measure how people are finding and buying your products and services, then you’re at a competitive disadvantage. That’s the plain, stark truth.

In today’s business environment, where every dollar matters, you need to KNOW (not guess at) what results you’re getting from your key business initiatives. You need someone — or something— that can clearly show you if you’re getting your desired results from the investments you’ve made.

This need is even greater for your marketing investments. In fact, ALL of your marketing should be measured and analyzed so you can refine your efforts to include only those that PROVE they are generating your intended results.

Traditional marketing approaches push product/service information at clients in the hopes of generating a response. The intent is to create awareness so businesses will flood the channels that they think are relevant to their target audience. They use web hits or email open rates to gauge the success of their marketing campaigns and never really know what the true impact is in generating a new client or sale.

So, what can you do on top of PUSHING information OUT?

You need to leverage today’s digital marketing capabilities to also PULL customers IN to your product or service.

Let’s face it — these days, our marketing universe revolves around the Web. This is a quantum change in how people interact with your business. The great thing about today’s digital marketing arena is that nearly ALL client engagements are measurable.

Marketing automation allows your business to DRAW customers to your business, ENGAGE them through the buying cycle, and then IDENTIFY if you achieved the intended result — a sale.

In order do this effectively, you'll need to:

1. Clearly define the objectives of your marketing efforts. What is your intended result? Do you want a direct sale, an inquiry, or a request for proposal? Be sure each message you put out has a desired action you want the reader to take.
2. Focus your marketing to ensure that you’re ready to engage a customer when they’re ready to buy. This means shifting away from a pushy “campaign” strategy to an invitational “conversation” strategy that invites the customer to consider your product or service.
3. Use marketing automation to continue the interaction with the customer once they've expressed interest. Today's customers will let you know when they've given you “permission” to keep the conversation going. Take them up on this invitation and be ready to talk when they show you they're listening!
4. Measure ALL your interactions. You need to understand how effectively you’re moving people to your intended result. Do you know the reason and the precise time or place that prospects disengage? You should. Measurable marketing makes that possible. Use your data to refine and improve your communication process with your customers and prospects.

As a business owner or CEO, you need to change your marketing expectations of yesterday. It’s time to use today’s technological tools to measure and analyze your marketing so you can achieve the competitive advantage you need to GROW your business.

P.S. If you need some help getting started, read "Why CEOs Need To See Their Marketing Metrics" or check out our online learning resources, including FREE eBooks, articles, and other tips to help get you measuring your marketing results and creating better, more strategic marketing campaigns — from the get-go.