As we quickly approach the end of the year, most marketing and PR specialists are in review mode, taking the time to analyze what worked and what didn’t work for their brands over the course of 2016.
As every good marketer knows, the evaluation aspect of a campaign is as important as the execution, and today’s ever-evolving tools available to marketers make it that much more necessary to evaluate a company’s efforts. Did that social media influencer program work as well as you expected it to? Did it perform even better than you anticipated? Did showing behind-the-scenes looks of your company on social media result in better engagement? Knowing the answers to these questions not only substantiates the work you do on a daily basis, but also allows you to know where to focus your efforts going forward.
As the marketing landscape continues to evolve and you prepare for 2017, here are three important metrics to consider when evaluating the success of your marketing efforts:
What would it cost to acquire one new customer?
Marketing – and especially PR – often get overlooked by companies because they aren’t seen as providing an immediate ROI. Instead of building out an internal media relations team to boost company coverage or hiring an outside agency to assist with trade shows and event management, companies often prioritize having a robust sales team, because this is, obviously, what brings in new business.
While a strong sales force is crucial, marketing and PR are equally important. Depending on the industry, product or service provided, the cost of a sales person (or team) to engage one new client could quickly add up. However, if the director of a company hears your CEO give a keynote speech at a conference, this could easily be the in they need to engage with your company and do business with you. Similarly, if they were to read an article in a leading business publication about how your company is elevating the industry standard, they might be tempted to find out more. If you can pique the interest of even a few potential clients from a mention in a news article or by speaking on a panel, that’s a worthy long-term investment.
What is your customer lifetime value?
Determining the lifetime value of a single customer is a significant metric to consider. If you evaluate a marketing campaign solely from a short-term view, it might be tempting to think that your efforts were too expensive for the ROI. However, if you approach it from a long-term, big picture perspective, your efforts might seem far less outlandish. Consider: if a single campaign results in bringing in 10 new customers, who will then become loyal, lifelong customers and brand advocates, the cost of that single campaign would pale in comparison to the amount of revenue those new 10 clients would spend over the course of their lifetimes.
What is your engagement value worth?
There’s a reason companies focus so much on social media – it works. Likewise, social influencers are astoundingly valuable for brands. Think about it: when consumers use social media to post about brands, their messages have the possibility of being exponentially amplified – depending on the follower count. Say, for instance, a user with 10,000 Instagram followers shares an organic post (meaning not paid or sponsored in any way) stating that your brand’s product is the best on the market. That user’s opinion will carry much more clout with their followers than an ad with the same claim – that of being “the best.” Any company can run an ad claiming to offer the best product or service, but there’s no way for consumers to validate that unless they or someone they know has personally used that product. That is the value of social influencers. The people who follow them do so for a reason – they trust their opinions, like their style, etc., and therefore, whatever they say, goes.
PR and marketing strategies can (and should) be as individualized as companies themselves. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all template for success, so when you’re determining how to evaluate your efforts, it’s important to make sure they align with your overall business plan and goals.
If your PR and marketing strategy (and evaluation metrics) need a bit of refreshing, contact us to see how we can help raise your brand to new levels.