Review, tweak and repeat

One of the most important parts of any marketing process is the review. Understanding what has and hasn’t worked is vital to the ongoing success of any marketing plans. Without logical data to back up the feelings we have about the marketing activity we will never know what to work on next. Getting a return on investment is sometimes more about learning from our past than looking to the future. I understand market places change along with products and services changing but there is still a lot to learn from the past.

Review the process – What worked well with the marketing you have run in the past. What headlines had the best response? What offer attracted the most attention? This shouldn’t be done on feelings as this can be very misleading. What worked well with your sales process? How was your follow up call received? Where did most of your sales fall in the sales process? All these questions need solid data to answer them before moving on to your next strategy.

Tweak the process – Once we know what worked well and what didn’t, we can tweak the process. We can change the headlines to become more focused towards our best results and we can tailor our offers towards the ones we now get the best response. This should make your marketing more effective, giving you a better return on investment from your budget. Sometimes however, tweaking does mean stopping. Stop what isn’t working and invest the saved money in to the strategies we know are working.

Repeat for old and new – Follow the same process for all current and old strategies as well as new. Following the process from start to finish when planning or changing any marketing strategies will set you up for the best results possible. Don’t become complacent, be strict with yourself and your team. Make sure once you have one strategy running successfully you maintain, review and tweak it. Then start the next new strategy following the same rules. Overtime, building multiple marketing activities you know work will give you the best possible return on investment.

Testing and measuring sits at the heart of any marketing activity and process. This allows you to be confident knowing what is and isn’t working, building a fully tested marketing plan. But remember, things can change so stay alert and review you data regularly, making sure you’re not wasting money.