How do you measure marketing efforts hold up to scrutiny? You’re sending out pitches, as well as making calls. You’re taking advantage of a number of outbound marketing strategy suggestions. In short, you’re trying to do all the right things that all the experts tell you to do, and yet… and yet.
At times… no, make that a lot of the time, assessing the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, pitching efforts, and those go-nowhere phone calls is difficult. After all, you can ask five different marketing experts how they measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns; as a result, you’ll likely to get a number of answers. For instance, just a handful say:
- Marketing metrics – Important
- Predictive analysis – Also important
- Cost to confirm a new client – Significant
- Sales outcomes – VERY significant
- Customer lifetime value (CLV) – huh?
The list goes on. All of the above, as well as probably a dozen other measuring metrics are used by marketing directors. All important. As a result, the size of any given marketing department depends on the size of the company.
In your task to gain new clients or customers, certainly you deal with one or more individuals involved in the decision-making process – an often long, drawn-out ordeal that can test the patience of a saint.
Any business owner, regardless of size, knows that marketing is the lifeblood of that business. In the same vein, and as an independent contractor, I myself wear a lot of hats to run my business: owner, chief financial officer, marketing director, PR department, and customer service, just to name a few.
Finding the marketing strategy that works for you
To clarify, as an independent contractor, I make an effort to follow guidelines and take the advice of experts. In addition, I try to keep up with constantly changing analytical tools. Consequently, it can be difficult to keep up and run with the big dogs. Nevertheless, it’s my business so I do it.
However, when it comes to my marketing objectives, I focus on my bottom-line goals, which include:
- Building relationships
- Generating income
Too simplistic? Isn’t that what we’re all after? I measure my marketing efforts by assessing the increase of potential clients who contact me for additional information, as well as those who sign those writing contracts. So, it doesn’t matter how large or small your company. Find the most beneficial metric for measuring your marketing strategies and success.