As an agency owner, you’ve probably heard the age-old saying “You have to spend money to make money” more than once. When it comes to marketing your agency, I’ve found that this statement is definitely true.
Whether it’s money or time, marketing campaigns usually involve a lot of investment. You can’t expect to see serious results from your marketing campaigns if you’re not willing to put in some cash and attention up front.
When I first started marketing my agency, I was reluctant to seriously invest in my campaigns. After all, we had limited funds, and I was scared to throw any money at a marketing campaign that wouldn’t work.
However, over the years, I’ve found that with the right strategy and process, you can almost guarantee high returns. If executed well, you can get a good return on investment (ROI) for each and every marketing campaign you run.
Here are my best tips for getting serious marketing ROI.
1. Know Your Goals
The goal of a marketing campaign is usually obvious: You want to sell more products or services.
However, this is often a multistep process that involves multiple connections with a prospect. This means you can’t expect each marketing investment to end in a sale.
In order to truly measure the return on your investment, first know what return you’re hoping for. Are you just looking for increased sales, or are you looking for new qualified leads?
Identify your goals before measuring your ROI. This can ensure that you’re getting the results your agency actually needs — not just those that you think you should be paying attention to.
2. Use An A/B Test
A/B testing is a great way to compare how two different campaigns can gather results. In an A/B test, you and your team run two different, yet similar, ads or campaigns to see which gets the best results. You can then use this information to better understand which one resonates with your audience.
You can A/B test things like headlines, colors, calls to action, landing page copy or link placement.
Through running various A/B tests, you can start to piece together items or design elements that convince your audience to convert. This ultimately can help improve your marketing ROI so you get the highest engagement possible for the money you’re spending.
3. Implement Analytics And Track KPIs
To know whether or not you’re achieving your desired ROI, track your key performance indicators (KPIs). These tell you whether or not you’re reaching the goals you previously set.
KPIs also require analytics. Implementing comprehensive analytics can allow you to see who is converting, who isn’t and where those individuals may be choosing to drop out of your marketing funnel.
KPIs and analytics can help you refine your marketing campaign to better connect with your target audience. For example, if you find that you have a leak in your marketing funnel and a high percentage of your qualified leads are getting lost, you can make adjustments to your strategy and campaign to better meet their needs and keep them in the sales process.
However, when tracking KPIs and using analytics, look beyond just the return you’re hoping to get. Look at smaller transactions or conversions, such as email opening rates or blog subscriptions, to keep track of leads during every stage.
Keep track of all kinds of data. Having a good understanding of how your audience is behaving and interacting with your content is one of the most valuable things you can do for your marketing campaigns.
Conclusion
There’s no secret recipe for increasing your marketing ROI. If there were, everyone would be using it.
However, if you understand your goals, know what your target audience is looking to engage with and can use analytics to track how well they’re converting (or what’s stopping them from moving to the next phase of the buyer’s journey), you can achieve real results.
Pay close attention to what your target audience needs and what they’re looking for. When you craft your marketing campaigns around your customers’ needs or challenges, you can get more attention and see a higher ROI.
