When marketing isn’t delivering, the usual response is to do more.
More posts. More ads. More emails. Maybe a new website for good measure.
Sometimes more activity is needed. But I’d rather find out what’s getting in the way before asking a business to spend another pound.
Here are seven things I’d check.
1. Who are you trying to reach?
“Anyone who needs our service” is usually too broad to guide a campaign.
Which customers are most valuable to your business? What problem sends them looking for help? What matters to them when choosing a provider?
You don’t have to refuse everyone else. You do need a clear idea of who your marketing is speaking to.
Try this: Look at your last ten good customers. What do they have in common?
2. Is the offer easy to understand?
A visitor shouldn’t need to decode your website to find out what you do. Can they quickly understand the service, who it’s for, what makes you a sensible choice and how to take the next step?
Try this: Show someone your main service page for five seconds and ask them to explain it back to you.
3. Where are enquiries coming from?
You don’t need to track every possible number. You do need a reasonable picture of which channels bring people to you.
Ask new customers how they heard about you. Check your website and campaign data. Look for patterns, while remembering that someone may have seen you in several places before enquiring.
Try this: Review your last 20 enquiries and note what you know about their source.
4. Are they the right enquiries?
A high enquiry count can hide a problem if most people want a service you don’t offer or can’t afford what you sell.
Look at the questions people ask and the reasons they don’t proceed. Your ads or website may be setting the wrong expectation.
Try this: Write down the three most common reasons an enquiry isn’t a good fit.
5. What happens after someone gets in touch?
How quickly do you respond? Is the next step clear? Who follows up if someone goes quiet?
Businesses can spend heavily on generating enquiries while leaving the follow-up to chance.
Try this: Submit an enquiry through your own website and experience the process yourself.
6. Are you keeping in touch with existing customers?
The next sale doesn’t always have to come from a stranger.
Could past customers use another service? Would they recommend you? Do they hear from you after the work is done?
Try this: Identify one useful reason to contact a past customer that isn’t simply “Are you buying again?”
7. Do you know what success looks like?
If the only goal is “more visibility”, it’s difficult to judge whether your marketing is helping the business.
Choose a few measures that matter: suitable enquiries, appointments, sales, repeat business or something else tied to your goals. Give them enough time to show a pattern.
Try this: Ask yourself what result would make the next three months of marketing worthwhile.
Find the first fix
You don’t have to tackle all seven at once.
The audit is there to find the biggest gap. Perhaps your ads are reaching the wrong people. Perhaps your website is unclear. Perhaps good enquiries are arriving and then sitting unanswered.
Fix the part most likely to make a difference, measure what happens, then move to the next one.
A marketing plan shouldn’t be a longer list of things to do. It should help you decide what’s worth doing first.
