Marketing is a journey of learning!

Surprised faces looked back at me as they also realised what their marketing data was telling us. It showed that their new business was regularly being passed to them by several referral partners.

On one hand this was good news – it meant that their marketing to find and cultivate new referral partners was delivering results. However, it also showed that their main referrer from three years ago had slipped off the top 10 list. Which was why they had looked surprised: “Oh. I assumed that they must be passing new files to my colleagues” and “We’d not registered that their referral rate had dropped so significantly”…

Marketing is a journey of activity on which we look to continually improve:

• Transforming good into excellent

• Learning from challenges and surprising results

• Deciding whether to stop, refine or overhaul underperforming activities.

This team agreed to learn from this unexpected finding. Their review revealed that a change in their referral partner’s team meant they weren't as well known as a supplier and thereby not top-of-mind for certain types of work.

Asking “What did we learn?” is an example of the tips I share in my 9 Questions for Growth Marketing Guide (free to download here: https://chovilthake.com.au/insights/9-questions-for-growth-marketing).

Guided, facilitated reviews are a great way to ensure assumptions aren’t made about the reasons behind performance. They are also a safe and confidential space for marketing teams to discuss performance, whilst gaining impartial insights into potential reasons and identifying opportunities. DM me if you’d like to explore they could help your internal team make next FY even better.

 In this instance, by taking time to learn the reasons behind the change meant my client was able to make their next year’s marketing even more effective by:

• Adapting their internal referral monitoring

• Developing their partner marketing processes to ensure similar team changes were picked up quickly and new starters were met in person as soon as possible

• Strengthening their portfolio of case studies

• Investing in regular networking and events to maintain and strengthen referral relationships.

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I'm Hannah Welch, a marketing consultant helping companies develop effective marketing strategies. The advice I give is bespoke to your organisation so your marketing builds on the brilliant work to date, strengthening your brand and developing growth.