There was a time where marketing felt like a necessary evil. The inner-workings of ad campaigns and their actual impact on my profits was deep in murky waters.

Logical thinking and intelligent decision-making didn't save me. There were too many factors - such as the ad headline and image, the audience to show the ad to, options to select people's interests and age... how could I make progress with so many dials to turn?

After all, there are people with marketing degrees, so it made sense that it felt so complicated. It must be terribly complex, I thought.

Right?

You might be surprised that to know that with a strict numbers approach, it's easy to learn. You don't need a marketing degree to understand the basics of:

1. Analyzing some data
2. Seeing what works
3. Applying that knowledge

You might think of marketing as anything from flashy ads to simply getting the word out. The real power is underneath the facade of all advertising - where you find a robust world of numbers and data that can actually pinpoint what makes your customers click "buy now."

Direct Marketing - Have A Personal Conversation With Your Prospect

Direct marketing is like having a one-on-one conversation with your customers. By sending targeted messages directly to them - whether through email, social media, or even personalized mail - you can track their responses meticulously.

This gets you valuable data about what really resonates with them. Are they more interested in a special discount or a new product feature? These are some of the key numbers we are after to make sense of how marketing affects results.

Recording and analyzing this data will get you more insight into how you can change or create products to maximize customer satisfaction and get more business at the same time.

An Often Missing Puzzle Piece

Variables like customer satisfaction can be difficult to measure. Surveys can turn sentiment into numbers.

If you sell soap, you could find out whether fragrance, packaging or amount of lather is the most important for your customers based on the average scores of each, filled out in a survey, for example.

This new information can influence your product development as you lean into what your customers like.

Learning to quantify moods, feelings and sentiments is a great way to generate valuable data seemingly out of nowhere.

Old Data, New Insights

You probably have heaps of customer data just waiting to be put to good use. Every time someone buys a product, leaves a review, or asks a question, they're giving you valuable insights. By delving into this data, you can uncover patterns and preferences.

Maybe you find out that your lavender-scented soap is a hit among people aged 65+, or that your eco-friendly packaging is winning over millennials.

Getting new insights out of old data is like a treasure hunt, providing more valuable pieces (numbers!) to your marketing puzzle.

Your Crystal Ball Built On Numbers

The beauty of measurable marketing is that it takes the guesswork out of the equation. It’s the development of your own secret recipe.

The right information and a bit of perseverance can change marketing from a "worry expense" to a profitable activity. By blending direct marketing tactics, sentiment data, and analyzing old data, you can piece together your own crystal ball - without a marketing degree.

If you're having trouble with this or would like to know how we would approach it for your business, get in touch. I'd be happy to do a marketing analysis customized to your business free of charge.