Why is an annual marketing review important?
Welcome to 2024! New year, new start!
Is your inbox flooded with people advising you what to do at the start of a new year?
New year’s resolutions for your business to move it forward in 2024?
We bet that it is, but it is also important to remember that any new start needs to be based on past performance and this is where an annual marketing review is important.
You cannot possibly determine where you are going and how you will get there if you don’t know what worked and what didn’t during 2023…
What exactly is a marketing review?
Your annual marketing review is about tracking results.
What actions worked, and what didn’t?
Did your marketing plan deliver the results it needed to?
Is your overall marketing strategy effective at delivering your business goals?
It is important that you learn from your mistakes, too.
If a campaign has not been successful, your business cannot afford to repeat this same mistake in 2024.
You need to analyse why a marketing campaign may not have delivered the results you expected or needed, so you can make some changes to ensure that all your activities deliver in 2024.
Once you have benchmarked your marketing activities, you will be able to analyse their effectiveness in reaching those all-important business goals and make the necessary adjustments to improve marketing performance.
If you feel that your team is overwhelmed or cannot provide an objective view of their work, why not request a Rebus Creative free marketing audit?
We will take a completely unbiased and objective view of your current marketing activities to make sure they are effective and maximising a return on your marketing investment.
We will create new marketing strategies aligned with your business goals, so you can smash 2024!
If your in-house team is stretched (or non-existent!), the Rebus Creative team becomes your marketing department, so you can concentrate on growing your business.
Whether you require a rolling contract or prefer project-based support, we have the in-house flexibility to meet your requirements.
Eight tips for conducting an annual marketing review
What should you include in your annual marketing review?
Below are our tips for ensuring you cover all aspects of your marketing strategy and performance, so you can benchmark successes and analyse where failures went wrong.
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Business goal alignment
Have your business goals changed for 2024? Marketing activities need to deliver against your current business objectives, so your marketing strategy may need to be adjusted to realign with new business targets.
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ROI
Did your marketing activities maximise your investment? You need to see a return on the upfront cost, for example, was your social media advertising or email campaign effective at delivering new customers? What was the sales return against your marketing investment? Putting figures down will help you to determine the campaigns or activities that generated the highest returns or sales, so you can make adjustments going forward.
It is only by measuring and benchmarking marketing campaigns, activities, and channels that you can refine and improve your marketing efforts going forward, eliminating actions that returned low or no results, or even trying something new.
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2024-25 Budget allocation
Was your 2023 marketing budget enough to meet targets? Which activities were the most expensive and were they worth it? Were there areas where you feel money was wasted?
Once you have completed the ROI analysis outlined above, you will be able to identify the effective channels and campaigns. This will allow you to allocate your marketing budget more efficiently to minimise waste and maximise return on investment.
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Evaluation of marketing performance
Analyse against key performance indicators (KPIs) and business goals for example, increase in website traffic, number of leads generated and customer engagement levels to see where you can improve or adjust activities.
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Trading environment
The business environment is organic and, therefore, constantly changing. Have there been any major industry changes during the past 12 months or external factors affecting the trading landscape?
Your annual marketing review will highlight consumer, industry, or competitive changes so you can adapt your marketing plan to ensure your company remains both competitive and relevant to target customers.
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Customer Feedback
Customers are invaluable when it comes to analysing marketing campaigns. Using their comments, reviews, and feedback to understand their perception of your company is enlightening.
You can benchmark their satisfaction levels, then work out where and how you can improve their perception and engagement by adapting your marketing activities.
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New Technology
Manufacturing and marketing technology marches forward at a fast pace, so I t is important to make sure your team is up to date with new developments.
In addition, try to future-proof in-house technological infrastructure by adapting the latest tools, software, and platforms to maximise marketing reach and engage effectively with your target customers.
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Competitor landscape
Understanding the marketing strategies of competitors will give you an edge.
Where did they make ground against your product offering? What are they doing right and where can you take advantage of their weaknesses?
Once you understand the competitive landscape you will be able to adjust your marketing strategy to gain ground over competitors and differentiate your company and products in the marketplace.
If you adapt your marketing strategy and activities to reflect changes in the areas outlined above, you will ensure that they are efficient, cost-effective, and aligned with your 2024 business goals.
At the beginning of this article, we posed the question, ‘why is an annual marketing review important?’
We hope that our explanation and tips have given you the answer to this question and that you now feel confident enough to review, refine and improve your marketing strategy, so that 2024 will bring you even greater success against your business objectives!
Once you’ve reviewed 2023, we would recommend you revisit your 2024 strategy quarterly to ensure you stay on track.
However, if you are still unsure where to begin, feel overwhelmed or simply do not have the resources to conduct an annual marketing review, contact the Rebus Creative team to discuss you’re your business goals for this year. Alternatively, book a free marketing audit, so we can objectively analyse your current brand message and marketing materials against your business goals. Following the analysis, our talented team will work with you to decide the best way forward and create a marketing plan that delivers the results you are looking for. Let’s raise a glass to a successful 2024!
