It was once again mid-December, and I was once again sitting and trying to come up with a list of resolutions. While going through some of the most common resolutions: get healthy, do more for others, etc. it hit me: these are great marketing resolutions, too.
Resolutions are a great concept. They give you focus for the year and motivate you to get more done. So often our work lives overlap with our personal lives—wouldn’t it be easier to just make one set of resolutions?
Resolution #1: Lose Weight and Get in Shape
This is everyone’s perennial favorite, and for good reason: when you’re in shape, you feel at your best. It’s the same for your business. One of your marketing resolutions should be to lose dead weight and make healthier business choices.
This year, instead of indulging in every marketing tactic out there, concentrate on the ones that will strengthen your business. Does your accounting business need a Pinterest? Probably not. Do you need to
Instead of sending out quick emails and posts that get you through the day, work on campaigns that will carry you into the future.
Resolution # 2: Think About Others
Long gone are the days where a simple HTML website was enough to impress a client.
These days, it’s all about user experience. Consumers have grown to expect a lot from companies. User experience is no longer just about how your website performs, but how it looks, as well as how well it’s optimized for mobile.
Instead of choosing website elements based off of your personal preferences or keeping certain elements because they’ve been there since day one, think of your customer. 88 percent of online consumers are less likely to revisit your site after a bad experience.
How do you prevent that? By focusing on the little things as well as the overall experience. A user experience manager for Bing credited using a specific shade of blue for at least $80 million in additional annual revenue.
You can also just listen to your audience. Have they been asking for a search bar? A better way to contact you? Give them what they want—the customer is [almost] always right. ESPN saw their revenue jump 35 percent after incorporating customer feedback in their homepage redesign.
Resolution #3: Learn from Your Mistakes and Make Better Choices
In 2016, stop sending out tweets that get no engagement. Stop sending emails that are never opened. Stop writing blogs that are never read. Start learning from your mistakes.
Marketing is a vast and complex business. What works for one company might not work for another. A very easy and practical way to figure out what works for your business is to start A/B testing.
A/B testing in its most basic form is simple: make different versions (such as a version A and a version B) and see which one does better. It’s a near-universal practice that works on social media strategy, email blasts, landing page copy—pretty much all types of content.
By A/B testing, you’ll be able to actively compare conversion and engagement rates and use that data to figure out what resonates best with your audience. A/B testing helped ComScore increase lead generation by 69 percent, and it helped Sony increase purchases by 20 percent.
Resolution #4: Write More
In 2015, businesses (both B2B and B2C) that prioritized blogging were 13 times as likely to see a positive return on investment. Don’t miss out on a statistic like that. This year, one of your marketing resolutions should be to make time to write.
Even if you’re not a writer, you should write more. Setting aside a just a few minutes a day to get your thoughts down on paper is not only therapeutic, it’s a great way to brainstorm, organize your thoughts and come up with the next big idea for your company.
What will your marketing resolutions be?
It’s never too late to set goals for yourself or for your company. This year, try to:
- Optimize your web, social and physical presence to make an impact. Don’t cheat yourself out of quality leads by spreading yourself too thin.
- Revamp your website. If you’re unsure how, follow this simple philosophy: Keep it simple. Make it easy to use. Make a great first impression.
- Decide what works for you. Create variations and analyze data to figure out the best voice, language, and even colors for your brand.
- Make time to write. Whether you write for your blog or for yourself, your business will benefit from a little spark of creativity.
