Well, easy until you see sales dipping or that new product launch fizzling out. Stakeholders aren’t happy, day-to-day responsibilities get pushed aside, and you’re up late at night trying to figure out what went wrong.
To avoid all that stress, the best thing you can do is perform a routine marketing strategy analysis. No, not once a year, but every single quarter.
Why Bother with Regular Marketing Strategy Analysis?
- Pinpoint Winning Moves: If certain marketing efforts are driving strong sales, leads, or brand engagement, you can double down on them before competition intensifies.
- Spot Money Drains: It’s painful to admit some parts of your company’s marketing strategy aren’t delivering. But a frank review cuts losses sooner, so you can redirect resources toward better options.
- Adapt Quickly: Shifts can happen fast – search behaviors, target market needs, product expectations, or new social media apps seem to pop up overnight. Review data regularly, and you can roll with any changes.
- Find the Gaps: A well-timed review can even reveal hidden growth opportunities you might otherwise miss – like a niche channel your competitors haven’t touched.
- Make Money Go Further: Make sure every cent you spend is going toward marketing channels that are actually working.
- Get Everyone on the Same Page: You need everyone chasing the same marketing objectives. But you also need everyone (sales and marketing teams) to know what’s getting them closer to achieving them.
How to Master Your Marketing Strategy Analysis
Decide What You’re Aiming For
Before you can tell if something’s working, you need to know what “working” looks like for your HPM business.
Define what success means for you. Is it more website traffic, a higher number of leads, more customer loyalty, or increased sales? Whatever your goals are, write them down and be specific.
Instead of saying “get more visitors,” you might set a goal to “increase website traffic by 20% in 6 months.” Or, rather than saying “improve social media marketing strategy,” you could say, “gain 600 more followers in 3 months.”
The more specific you are, the easier it’ll be to compare your results against your targets during your strategy review.
P.S. If you’re not already tracking key metrics, now’s the time to set up goal tracking!
Get Your Data Together
Next, take a close look at stats on your key performance indicators. Log into your analytics tool (Google Analytics is a good start) and see what the data tells you.
Look at things like:
- Website traffic and where it’s coming from
- Conversion rates on your contact forms or product pages
- Social media engagement and which posts or ads are getting the most attention
Once you’ve got your numbers together, which marketing channels are tanking? Which campaigns are crushing it? This data is your best friend. It provides solid proof of what’s working and what might need a little tweak – or even a complete overhaul.
Listen to Your People
There are real people behind those marketing numbers – from your existing customers who came back to buy again to the sales team that reached out to them.
Not sure what’s working and what’s not? Talk to the people on the front lines. Ask your sales team, customer service reps, and even a few loyal customers for their 2 cents.
They might notice things you’ve missed: a recurring complaint about your website’s funky navigation, praise for that awesome Instagram video, or even deliveries arriving broken.
Look at the Bigger Picture
Do a vibe-check outside your own analytics. That means competitive analysis and fresh market research.
Analyzing competitors? Ask yourself:
- Did they up their ad spend on certain social media platforms?
- What content marketing are they doing? What’s getting engagement?
- Have they pivoted to a new product line?
- Do they have a new competitive advantage they’re pushing?
- Who are the industry leaders right now, and why?
Conducting market research? Ask yourself:
- Are economic shifts affecting our margin?
- Are changes in the industry affecting our performance?
- What trends are our target market into right now?
- Has our target audience behavior changed?
- Do we need to target additional audiences?
Create a Realistic Action Plan
By now, you should have a good idea of what’s doing well, and which areas need some marketing TLC. It’s time to turn that analysis into a strategy.
Start by making a list of the changes you want to implement. These might be small tweaks: adjusting your ad copy, refreshing your email marketing strategy, that kind of thing.
Or maybe they’re bigger moves: transforming your value proposition, changing up the kind of content marketing you’re doing, or even targeting a whole new market.
- Prioritize: Choose the top 2-3 actions that seem most promising.
- Plan: Write down who on your team will do what and by when.
- Measure: Set new targets to track so you’ll know if your changes are working.
How often should you do this? Again, quarterly reviews are best. Who wants to find out a marketing campaign is completely failing 9 months after it started? Not you.
Consider Bringing in Outside Expertise
Even if you’re doing a great job reviewing your own work, it can be hard to spot what you’re too close to see. Bringing in an external expert can offer unbiased feedback and new ideas.
An outside consultant can help you:
- Compare your numbers against industry benchmarks
- Identify gaps in your current marketing mix
- Suggest proven strategies to amp up your performance
This doesn’t mean you’re not capable; only that you’re open to making your marketing strategy even stronger.
Thinking of teaming up with a digital marketing expert? Give this a read first: 6 Questions You Should Ask A Manufacturing Marketing Agency Before Hiring Them.
Your next step…
Find the sweet spot between ambitious ideas and a doable approach.
- Get a snapshot of your brand positioning in the market
- Receive a thorough look at your strategy – what’s hot and what’s not
- Have a custom plan built around your growth goals
