How do you know if your marketing dollars are working?

Are you getting

• More sales
• More customers?
• More visits your website?

These are definite indicators that your marketing is working but the bigger question is “How do I know I am on the right track with my marketing” because the first part of this statement is about media effectiveness and the second part is about strategy.

When you start with the metrics around customer counts, sales and web visits etc you are looking at marketing in the wrong way, these are advertising metrics and marketing is about so much more.

Let’s discuss what a brand is a second. A brand carries emotion and feeling when customers have a connection with a brand they can tell you how they feel about it or can defend a position for the brand in question.

I often reflect on the all too many discussions I have been part of, around car brands. Which is better and why. It is the best example you will find of allegiance to a brand. They discuss the power, the style, the wins at the track,  the history and so much more.. they have invested time in knowing the brand and the whole time they are reinforcing their position on the brand.

These are the attributes of a brand when a customer is selling your product and the benefits to others then you are on the right track.

Your strategy should start with the following questions

• What is my brand?
• What does it stand for?
• Why would anyone tell their friends about it?

I have always stated that if I could own any media stream it would be “word of mouth” as it is definitely the most influential. How many times has someone swayed your buying decision on a product or service because they were selling the benefits? That is the power of a brand.

So again, the question

How do you know if your marketing dollars are working?

Well, what it’s your strategy, if you have a strategy then you will have a plan and you can measure a plan. If you don’t then please call Probatio for help.