How Can You Tell When Your Marketing is Working?

Marketing is the process of influencing how people feel about you, your company, and your brand. So you can tell your marketing is working when you perceive changes in people’s beliefs or in the things they do (actions they take).

They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I think that imitation is also a good indicator that you’re doing something right.

When I began my company, Internet Presence LLC, people were talking about websites and SEO (search engine optimization). But I largely avoided those terms — I knew that getting a business found online, having it look good, and getting results required a more “holistic” approach. So I began using words like “Internet presence”, “online presence”, and “digital marketing” to describe what I do for my clients. If you had Googled “internet presence” when I first got started, you would have found me at the top of Page 1. Today, there are loads of people competing for your attention online — there’s even an entire Wikipedia page for something called “online presence management”. I’m still on Google Page 1 alright, but everybody is writing about Internet presence these days, from Forbes magazine to the Huffington Post. If your field or profession has become more crowded since you entered it, that’s a good indication that demand for what you offer is increasing, and someone’s marketing is working — is it yours?

Here are five (5) sure signs that your marketing is working:

1. Your competitors begin adopting your language/phraseology in their advertising and marketing messages;
2. Your competitors stop/start offering products/services in alignment with your product/service offerings;
3. People begin seeking you out and/or asking your advice;
4. You find it is becoming easier/quicker to close new business;
5. You find you can charge more for your services than your competitors are charging.

Keep in mind that once you determine your marketing is working, you have a responsibility to the market if you expect to remain relevant. Being imitated requires effort! If you are going to remain a relevant influencer in your chosen field or profession, you must do what it takes to not only know your industry, but to recognize trends, behaviors, wants, needs — do you know what the next “thing” is going to be?

I learned a technique at an Internet marketing seminar many years ago that still serves me to this day. I had an opportunity to meet and interact with some of the best people in online marketing over dinner. It’s something I call “Holes in the Road” and I’ll write about it for my email newsletter subscribers — you can subscribe on this page.