You’ve been working your 2018 marketing plan since the beginning of the year, but is it delivering the results you expected? No matter how rock-solid your plan was in January, circumstances change, sometimes dramatically. Therefore, it’s important to evaluate your marketing strategy and adjust your approach based on current market conditions and the results of tactics implemented to date. Here are seven questions to guide your review of your current marketing plan.

Marketing Strategy Review

1. How effective is your lead generation? This is one of the top concerns for today’s marketers. Qualified leads are the number-one goal of any company. However, 63% of marketers state it is their biggest challenge. If you’re struggling to generate leads, you’re struggling to generate business. To produce quality leads, use multiple approaches and marketing channels. Which tactics, communications projects and distribution channels generate the most impact? Which markets do you reach and which respond? What frequency and style of messaging is working best? The key is to discover where your leads are coming from and which tactics will continue the steady stream of interest.
2. What do you know about your target market? Understanding your target markets goes hand in hand with lead generation. However, if you find potential leads, but don’t know how to communicate effectively with them, you lose their business. Use known insights and industry research to understand where your products and services are best suited. Build a database of potential prospects and research meaningful topics in their field. Ask the sales department what issues their prospects are most concerned about. It’s vital to understand the pain points of your potential customers and then communicate how your company can solve their headaches.
3. How do you prioritize finite resources?  Time, money and human resources will always be a struggle for any business, regardless of size. It seems that there’s never enough. In fact, 57% of marketers state time was their number-one challenge at work. While resources will always be finite, prioritizing where resources are best allocated can make for smarter spending. It’s important to create an organized marketing plan that is aligned with your firm’s sales, financial and administrative teams. Open communication between all levels and departments is essential. Use research and insights to build a strategy that can put resources into perspective and scale needs and benefits.
4. How do you generate quality content? In order to encourage inbound leads, content marketing is essential. Furthermore, content can boost SEO and showcase your company’s expertise and thought leadership. However, creating relevant and original ideas can be difficult. In fact, 51% of marketers considered the quality of content the biggest challenge of content production. To produce quality content, create a content marketing strategy that supports your team. Be sure content remains relevant and newsworthy while embracing trends and technology.
5.  How do you measure ROI and scale accordingly? Research and analysis are essential to today’s marketing programs, but certainly come with their own challenges. Consider using metrics and analytics programs to collect data about your marketing efforts. Analyze programs and initiatives for effectiveness and adjust accordingly. In marketing, sometimes ROI is difficult to measure and requires repeated trial and error. Several failures often create a foundation for future success.
6. How do you establish credibility and name recognition? It’s true that people don’t buy services or products from companies they don’t know. However, getting to know a prospect can be tough in today’s global marketplace. Use a variety of methods to diversify your outreach such as content marketing, advertising, email campaigns, influencer marketing or referrals. It’s important to focus on expertise and relevance rather than self-promotion.
7. What is your distribution strategy? Content is only as powerful as its outreach, but discovering the best methods to distribute can pose a challenge. Again, use a variety of appropriate channels and stay on top of industry trends to know where your prospects look first. Social media has proven itself an invaluable channel, with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn leading the pack for B2B companies. However, niche markets benefit greatly from more focused digital and print trade publications. Additionally consider contributed content, sharing via influencers and email campaigns.

Stay on Track

Since you implemented your marketing plan for the year, how many times have you met with your team to assess progress and make adjustments? Even a solid marketing plan requires constant reflection and revision. Take a look at your original goals and pinpoint the areas of your plan that aren’t working as well as those that are excelling. Now is the time to make sure your plan doesn’t grow stale and remains on track for the balance of the year.