We’re heading towards the end of the year, when lots of us reflect on the things that made us happy, what we’d like to change and how we want the year ahead to feel. If you’re thinking about your business and getting ready to review your marketing, here are a few questions to ponder to help you plan for next year.
Where are people getting to know you?
When I talk about marketing, I mean anything that helps people get to know you and learn more about what your business does. That includes anywhere people might read your words, watch your videos or talk to you face-to-face.
Think about:
- The website pages people spend the most time on
- The videos they watch all the way through
- The posts that get likes, comments or shares
- The chats you have at networking events
The downside is that people might read your social media posts without interacting, but this process should give you a rough idea of where they’re finding you and what’s attracting their attention.
Where do your enquiries come from?
The next stage is to see who’s getting in touch and how. Most of my enquiries arrive by email, often from people I’ve talked to online or in person. When someone contacts you, they might have looked at several platforms, but the method they use will tell you a lot about the content that nudged them into action.
If you use a website contact form and have Google Analytics set up, you can see the path visitors take to your contact page. It helps you understand the customer journey and focus your marketing on the things that get results.
What do your favourite clients have in common?
This might seem a bit off piste, but understanding what your favourite clients have in common helps you attract more of them, which will make your business life a lot more fun. Working out where those clients have come from also helps you focus on doing more of that. If they engage with you on social media or mention blog posts they’ve read and enjoyed, you can review those in more detail to replicate the effect in the future.
Are you being consistent?
Good marketing is about building relationships, so consistency is essential. When people see you popping up regularly, they remember you, learn about what you do and know you’re still around when they need you.
Consistency doesn’t have to mean posting every day, but it does involve having a routine you can stick to. It creates predictability for your audience and helps you plan, which is much less stressful than winging it.
Where is the money coming from?
We’re in business to make money, and your finances can tell you what’s working in your marketing.
If your enquiries lead to interesting chats but not many bookings, the solution often starts with your marketing. If you’re attracting tyre kickers or people who say “I didn’t think it would cost that much”, there might be a disconnect between how you present your work and the quality you actually deliver.
I’ve had a tendency to apologise for my own existence and downplay my services in the past. If your marketing attracts people who don’t see the value in what you offer, it’s time to change how you talk about your work.
How are you?
Most of us started our businesses to enjoy our work, set our own goals, and have more control over how our lives look. Marketing takes time, and if it’s the thing you always leave until last, you might find yourself working late, getting stressed and feeling guilty because you’re missing out on time with your family.
If the life you imagined isn’t the one you currently have, look at the marketing you currently do and how long it takes. Simplifying and streamlining your marketing or getting the right support can ease the burden.
Ready for a chat?
Reviewing what is (and isn’t) working in your marketing helps you plan for the year ahead. If you want to get more consistent with your marketing or write content that feels more like you, let’s have a chat.
When you work with me, I’ll get to know you and your business and write content that sounds like the best version of you and that your audience will love. That could be monthly blog posts or articles, social media posts, emails or pretty much anything else you can think of!
Please email me to arrange a chat or book a Zoom call to find out more.
Alternatively, sign up for my mailing list, and I’ll send you a free copy of my eBook with fifty (yes, 50) topic ideas for your marketing as a thank you. It also includes hints and tips to help you structure your posts if you’re currently writing your content yourself.