Use a marketing dashboard to get the most from every dollar you spend on marketing. Is your marketing budget attracting a healthy return on investment (ROI)? When it comes to marketing, it’s all about the results: you need to generate traffic, leads and sales. You’re spending the money to make the money. So with every marketing campaign you do, the big question is – how do you know if it’s successful? And which segments of the campaign are generating the best results? How long do you wait to find out? As a SME owner, the worst thing you can do is launch a marketing campaign, then sit back and wait for the customers to start knocking. You need to stay on top of it, closely monitoring for results and effectiveness. That way, if your campaign’s falling on deaf ears, you can do something about it before you’ve burned right through the marketing budget. The absolute best way to keep a close eye on how every channel and activity within your marketing campaign is tracking is to use a marketing dashboard. What is a marketing dashboard? A marketing dashboard is a graphically-presented summary of key data from your marketing activities. This real-time snapshot gives you a clear view of how every aspect of your marketing is performing.
- Track your most important KPIs and metrics
Your marketing dashboard can be customised according to the particular requirements of your business and your marketing activities, to provide key metrics and data. Reports can include but are not limited to the following:
- Web Analytics – visitor numbers, most visited pages, length of visit, where traffic is coming from, etc.
- Track performance of Google Ad Words campaigns
- Email and Content Marketing – track email open rates, click-through rates, unsubscribe and subscribe rates, etc
- Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram – track followers, likes, most viewed posts, advertising results, etc
- CRM – statistics on leads and sales conversions
- E-commerce shop sales
- Events – attendance numbers
- Survey results.
- Stop wasting time and money on underperforming activities
Because the dashboard provides such a comprehensive view of how every aspect of your marketing is performing, it’s easy to spot what activities are getting good results, and what activities are under-performing. This means you can immediately revise or pull any marketing activities that aren’t delivering, potentially saving you hundreds or thousands of dollars on ineffective marketing. Regular checks of your dashboard statistics will also quickly reveal any slow declines in engagement, such as reduced email open-rates, giving you a chance to tweak your message and get things back on track.
- Improve ROI by maximising the channels that work
At the same time, improve the efficiency of your campaign by investing more dollars and time into the channels that are already driving good results. Identify which blog posts attract the most click-throughs, and write more on that topic.
- Meet your goals
You set goals and targets when you planned your marketing – now use your dashboard to stay accountable as your activities roll out. Are you meeting the goals and targets set out on your marketing plan? You will quickly see if the goals you set are realistic, or if you need to allocate a bigger spend or a longer timeframe to get the results you need.
- Hone in on your target market
Key metrics such as your web analytics, email open rates, and social media engagement all paint a clearer picture of who your target market are and how they’re using various media. Capitalise on this information by directing your marketing efforts into the specific channels your target market are using: you’ll save time and money on extraneous channels, and achieve a tighter, more focused campaign that delivers better ROI. Measuring your marketing has a huge impact on the success of any campaign. Monitoring with a manageable, customised dashboard each month or quarter allows you to quickly and easily track how your marketing is going, see what is working and what is not, and continue to revise your strategy and tactics, improve efficiencies, and optimise your marketing to drive ROI. If you’re not sure where to start, Blaze Marketing offer a customised marketing dashboard service. We can generate your dashboard on a monthly or quarterly basis, and provide expert analysis and strategic recommendations for improvement. Call Blaze Marketing on 02 8005 400 or visit www.blazemarketing.com.au and take control of your next campaign.
