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As the year is drawing to a close, many people see it as a time to reflect. And while the official marketing figures may only be available next year, we as human beings tend to think from one year to the next.
Every year brings its own business challenges, but we need to survive -and ideally thrive – despite all of them.
After all, the cost of doing business is always increasing, and the economy throws us a curve ball from time to time.
But the bottom line is that your marketing has to get the job done, despite everything that happens.
So that begs the question:
Are you happy with your marketing results for the year?
Let’s break it down:
1. Are you satisfied with your bottom line/ROI?
All in all, all things considered, through all of the ups and downs, are you happy with the returns on your marketing spend for the past year?
While it isn’t always possible to run every campaign profitably, the average return has to be worth your while.
2. Are you satisfied with the progress of your marketing?
In some situations, the market is only so big. There is only so much you can do to grow, unless the local population grows first.
Even so, there are usually things you can do to improve the returns on your marketing.
But…
Were you able to extract any growth from your marketing campaigns this past year? Are you in a better place than you were a year ago?
Or did you simply tread water, fighting just to maintain your existing revenue figures?
If so, you may want to ask yourself:
3. What marketing lessons did you learn this past year?
If you are unable to grow your revenue from your marketing campaigns this year, what went wrong?
Did new technology disrupt your industry?
Did supply constraints increase the price of source materials?
Did a new player enter the market, reducing your market share?
Did inflation simply leave your customers or clients with less money available to spend with you?
Did you find yourself unable to market consistently due to time- or financial constraints?
Did you fall behind because your competitors improved on their marketing, and you didn’t?
Did you focus on the wrong things?
Depending on your particular situation and operating circumstances, you may very well have to add some more questions to this list. But it is essential that you identify the source of your growth constraints.
If you don’t pinpoint the source of the bottleneck, how will you fix it?
4. What will you do differently next year?
If your current marketing strategy is working for you, resulting in growth, then great. While you may need to make some minor changes to keep up with changes in consumer behavior and -expectations next year, you are still on the right track.
However, if the past year didn’t pan out as you hoped it would…
Scrutinize everything. While there may be one specific bottleneck you need to deal with, you may find that there are several instances where you can produce minor improvements.
And while each of those minor improvements may not seem significant on their own, the cumulative result can make a huge difference.
Always remember that, while the changes you make to your marketing may only result in a small increase in revenue, the difference in profit could still be substantial – especially if you are able to produce those results without increasing your marketing spend.