Five numbers for effective marketing
Effective marketing generate sales and maximises a business’ growth potential. Whilst you will be tracking and analysing the progress of your individual marketing strategy and plan, knowing the following five numbers are also essential for success.
How much are you selling… and of which products and/or services
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? However, I often find when I analyse what customers are actually selling, this differs to what they think they are selling.
So don’t assume - know your numbers!
What profit do your sales make? What makes the most? What brings in the least?
It’s very easy to believe that if you are busy, you are making money. Check regularly that your sales are also making the profit you need for growth and that the campaigns you’re running are generating the right types of sales.
For example, a manufacturing client was extremely busy making a standard consumer products where profits were tight thanks to competitive pricing and short lead times from large competitors. Analysing their capabilities and profit margins, we concluded that making less sales but more profit on bespoke commercial products would allow them to capitalise on the technical and engineering skills they had in the business and open up markets they had previously ignored due to lack of capacity.
How many leads do you need vs your actual leads (… and how do you generate them)?
Whilst some companies go straight from a cold enquiry straight to a sale, Knowing how many leads you need links your marketing to both your sales and company objectives.
You might go straight from an enquiry or website visit straight into sales, however, many companies (especially for service-based companies and high-ticket-priced items) have a longer sales process which needs to convert enquiries into leads, then cultivate them into prospects and eventually sales.
How many people do you know… and how are you communicating with them?
In other words, how many prospects and leads do you have? Are they stored in a central place (a CRM system. database pr spreadsheet)?
Do you know how you met or generated them? (Tip - tag your data so you know where you first met them and subsequent ‘touch points’ through their customer journey with you.)Marketing doesn’t just generate new leads, it helps to move them through the sales cycles so communicate with them regularly with valuable content. Try to use a mixture of media to suit different learning styles (eg video and written word) as well as mediums (such as eDM, social media, post). Regular communication with customers keeps you top of mind and enables you to share with them additional products or services that you offer.
The number of lost sales…. and why?
Sometimes a tricky one to track depending on your sales process, but this metric gives you important insights into the effectiveness of your marketing. For example, if a sale is lost on price, have you been marketing to the right demographic or type of company? If you discover a customer has gone with a different supplier, was it because of additional benefitds they were offering? Or perhaps your sales process was too complex or slow? Remember people buy from people, so consider your whole process, from who answers the phone to how products and services are delivered to ensure repeat sales.
We’d love to hear from you if you’d like to know more or discuss any of above numbers and how to measure them in your oganisation!
Hannah Welch is a marketing consultant based in the Blue Mountains, NSW Australia. She specialises in giving strategic marketing advice and marketing mentoring to ambitious and disruptive B2B companies and manufacturers wanting to create business growth.