Marketing check in: Is it time to make changes yet in 2023?
What worked yesterday may not work today. Reviewing your marketing strategy a few times throughout the year will ensure you stay on top of things and get ahead of any changes. It will also help you keep up with the changing trends in marketing so you can reach your audience in the most effective ways.
With almost 25% of the year behind us, here are a few marketing related things you should note as we move into the next quarter.
Review your goals and milestones
While you may have overarching goals for the year, remember that you should break them down into bite-sized milestones to hit along the way. That way you can give yourself targets throughout the year. Have you reached your milestones for the first quarter? If you didn’t, why not? It could be that the marketing tactics you’re investing in just don’t serve your overall goals anymore. Since platforms and channels change and your customers and their behaviour changes, if something isn’t working then you should consider a change.
Create updated offers for Q2
It’s always good to keep things fresh, and sometimes that means updating your special offers. Update those codes, update the messaging – even the core offer – based on where the market is at at this point in time.
Does your website need a facelift?
I am not suggesting a website overhaul (unless you had planned on that already!), but you might need to do a bit of a refresh. Consider updating any seasonal elements like special offers you had set up on your site for Q1. You may also want to update any content or messaging that is not helping to convert visitors into customers.
This is also a great time to double check all of your links to make sure everything is working properly. For example, maybe you changed your social handles, but you didn’t update the links on your site. Or perhaps you got rid of a social channel from your strategy, but you didn’t remove it from the website.
Customer behaviour changes
People change. It’s in our nature. Your customers’ behaviour will shift throughout the year based on a number of different factors such as the weather, holidays, the news cycle, competitor offerings, and much more. The biggest question you should ask regularly is whether your audience still has a need or want for your product or service. Are they still buying from you? Are they buying from a competitor?
The other thing to consider beyond your product or service is whether your selecting marketing channels and how you are using them is still the best way to reach them. For example, social media habits will shift throughout the year. They may be on screens less in the summer because they are spending more time outdoors. Or engagement times will shift when kids go back to school. It’s important to be aware of these things so you can adjust your strategy accordingly.
Are you wasting too much time on social media?
No, I am not suggesting you cut social media out of your strategy. I am simply saying you need to make sure your efforts are serving your goals. Sometimes, due to customer behaviour a specific platform may not be worth the effort. Have a peek at your analytics to see whether your numbers have plateaued and whether anything you have done to try to grow it has worked. If not, then maybe it’s time to stop investing time into that platform.
Also consider algorithm changes for each platform. For some platforms, it can feel like they are changing daily, so it’s a good idea to ensure that your current content strategy aligns with each platform. For example, Instagram announced that they went too far pushing Reels last year and they would pull back a bit. We are seeing decreased visibility across the board with Reels and are shifting back to more static images for certain posts.
It's always a good idea to stay on top of your marketing and doing a simple quarterly review will help you stay on track throughout the year. Not sure where to start? Book a free consultation with us.