The digitalization of marketing and brands and a dramatic change in customer behavior have made marketing campaigns briefer over time. Markets are changing faster than they ever have. Of course, you need to have a marketing strategy, but in this day and age, your strategy must be moving and changing as fast as the world and market it operates in.
The truth is, strategy without data analysis is useless. For your plan to be effective, you must measure the effectiveness of your campaigns and are willing to change direction as needed when things aren’t working. By properly using the data you collect, you will be able to allocate your marketing dollars and energy better and not spin your wheels needlessly with something that isn’t working.
Balancing Persistence and Need to Change
Many business owners run into trouble figuring out how to be persistent while embracing change simultaneously. We have just discussed why you need to make changes to keep up and to be more cost-effective with your marketing. But, at the same time, everyone knows that persistence pays off in the end.
You might be familiar with a statistic that says a customer normally needs to be exposed to your product seven times before they make a purchase. So, how do you know when to be persistent and when to make a change?
Trial and Error in Business
The answer is trial and error. If you think about it, an awful lot of what you know you likely learned through trial and error. In fact, it is the method that built most of the successful businesses out there today.
When you craft your marketing strategy, wouldn’t it be nice to know whether or not it will work? Trial and error can tell you. That is why there are beta versions, consumer market research groups, and many other tools used to test products and campaigns.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that you must use formal (or expensive) methods to use trial and error to your advantage. When you use data analysis and keep a close eye on the effectiveness of specific campaigns, you get the same answers. Paying attention to key performance indicators (KPIs) like return on investment (ROI), cost per lead, cost per conversion, and incremental sales will allow you to see trends early and make appropriate changes.
It is also to work with and employ people who are open to change and willing to try new methods. For example, hiring people willing to A/B test what you are working on gives you data much faster in a very cost-effective way.
Utilize Your Data Effectively
The most important aspect of trial and error, as well as any marketing campaign, is properly measuring and testing your results. However, all of the testing and results in the world don’t do anything if you’re not using them correctly.
Trust the data you gather and use it to make better decisions faster. Doing so will help improve your marketing strategy and processes in time.
