When it comes to why a marketing campaign or activity hasn’t worked as well as the business expected, I have over the years heard many different reasons. Some have been legit and some have just seemed like an excuse.

My favourites have included:

• It was too hot / it was too cold
• The football / tennis was on
• It coincided with the Pope’s visit / there was a Royal Wedding
• There was a big storyline in a Soap
• It’s the school holidays / the kids are at school

Before the finger starts pointing though and even before the campaign has started, there should be clear objectives and expectations set as to the success (or not) of a marketing tool, and clearly if any of the reasons above are likely to affect the outcome then research to identify any potential obstacles. Aside from anecdotal information (which is always valuable), it’s also important to set measurable tangible goals and to establish how that is going to be monitored. For example:

• No of enquiries
• No of calls
• Places booked
• Sales made

How an activity can be measured will vary: 

• Advertising – include a unique offer or code to quote or use a different telephone / website address to monitor number of enquiries
• Website – use analytical tools to view performance. Some content managed systems (CMS) have their own tools or you can use Google Analytics for free (a code will need to be added to your website, which your developer will be able to do for you).
• Social media – most of the tools available will automatically record data for you. Look the number of followers, profile visits, likes and shares and identify which posts received more activity than others. There are bolt on analysis tools available to help monitor social media activity
• Exhibition – number of visitors to a stand, the number of cards left, the quality of enquiries made
• Ask – when you receive a new enquiry, ask where they heard about your business

There have been many occasions when I’ve met a business for the first time who have told me that they ‘tried marketing but it didn’t work for them’, in most cases they did not plan the marketing in advance, they didn’t monitor or measure it and therefore were unable to clearly establish whether it gave them a Return on Investment.

Monitoring and measuring your marketing will also give you the opportunity to adjust it. With online advertising, you could modify where it is seen. Content can be updated on a website. Social media posts can be rescheduled for a more optimum time and at an exhibition you can identify ways to direct / encourage people to your stand.