Marketing Questions You Need To Ask - Before It's Too Late
No one has all the answers, but here are all the questions that every marketing superstar should consider! These are the questions that will gauge the success of your current marketing efforts and decide how those efforts should evolve moving forward.
Perhaps in a particularly taxing semester of high school biology you thought about what it would be like to find the answer key to a test - just like in a morals-centric, after school sitcom. But forget the feel-good lesson of always doing the right thing, bio is hard and a stress-free 100 percent on a quiz sounds great! (And daydreaming of finding all the answers was easier than studying.)
Well, having these 20 marketing questions is actually better than finding any answer key. PLUS you actually will get the warm, gooey feeling of doing the right thing because JUST skimming through this list will advance your website.
You will be able to pin point aspects of your marketing strategy that could be damaging conversion rates.
Then, you can grade yourself and decide if you get a T for troll or O for outstanding (use whatever grading system you like; I'm just a Harry Potter fan).
Start with the general questions:
1. What does your company do?
This might seem like a toss away but it’s essential to success that you understand the exact functions of your brand. Never forget that great saying from everyone's favorite patent clerk:
2. How is your company perceived?
If you don’t know the answer then you possibly are out of touch with your users. That’s a big yikes! Are you cool? Are you maternal? Are you authoritative? What is your brand? Who are you as a company? Don’t get overwhelmed, but do focus on a clear definition. Then, decide if how you are currently perceived is how you want to be perceived.
3. Do users trust your company?
Are users recommending your company to friends? Are users engaging with your company through social media? Are users able to comment and have discussions on your website? Are you receiving positive feedback on social media and through the comment sections? What are your users discussing? What do they want?
4. What makes your brand unique? How is it different from competitors and why is that difference important?
This goes along with knowing and understanding your company. It is important to understand your own selling points. Again, you might think these are silly, obvious questions. However, sometimes it is good to go back to the basics and make sure you never lose sight of your vision.
Think about analytics data:
5. High bounce rates? Why?
Does the homepage of your site need improvement? That entry page is so important in generating user interest.
6. What’s really causing users to leave your site at those points?
Is it hard to navigate your site? Is the information presented not what users want? Is the website not meeting users expectations?
7. Are conversions low on your mobile site? Why? Are they low on your desktop site? Why?
Possibly your target audience favors one over the other. Why? Is it because of their demographic? Possibly your site is not optimized to work on all channels. Possibly it is difficult to complete actions on certain screens. Find out!
8. Why does one webpage have such a high average time on page?
Look at the topic. Look at the content. Better visuals? More graphics? Was there a video? Was it posted at a certain time?
Understanding this data will help improve your site. You may have to test users to find out the answers, but figuring out this information will be extremely insightful. Then you can produce content that will be enjoyed and wanted. Speaking of content...
Think about content:
9. Are you providing quality content?
Is it free of errors? Does it advance your brand? Do you have a blog? Is that advancing your brand? Is your content regulated? Are you posting often?
10. Is your content easy to find from your homepage?
Don't forget that other old, famous saying, "content is king." Is your navigation clear? Do you have easy-to-spot calls to action?
11. Can your content be accessed through all channels?
Has it been optimized? Will responsive design help advance your content? (Not sure what responsive design is? No worries, click here)
12. Do you host webinars? Are they advancing your brand?
Are they accessible? Do they have easy calls to action included?
Think about optimization and landing pages:
Some of the questions already asked started this process, but since they all work together to create an awesome marketing strategy it will be important to delve in deeper.
13. Can any pop-up, any form, any call to action be accessed and filled in through either a mobile or desktop device?
Think about all those various screen sizes out there. Think about how often you are on your own smartphone. Think about anything that frustrates you when you try to fill in information using a smartphone.
14. Are your calls to action clear? Do your forms and pop-ups make it easy to fill in the blanks?
No one likes feeling lost!
15. Is it easy to understand what is being offered on the landing page? Is it what users expect?
Are you doing a good job of being clear about what your brand offers? Are users aware of various services your brand offers?
16. Can users easily get to a landing page?
Think about email:
17. Why are users unsubscribing to emails?
They must have subscribed at some point in order to unsubscribe so find out why. Are their expectations not being met? Do they feel overwhelmed by the amount of daily/weekly emails? Do they feel like those emails have no value? Are you including a newsletter? Are you making your business intentions clear?
18. What feedback are you receiving from your email campaign? Is it working?
Are users opting into services? Are they engaging in any type of back and forth email exchange with your company?
And finally think about your own growth:
19. Have you improved your website since last time you evaluated it? Will you improve it now?
Also a good reminder is to be active on your site and responsive to anything in a timely matter.
20. Do you have an effective marketing strategy that is meeting your company goals and expectations? How will you improve it?
Asking these questions will ultimately help understand where your company's marketing strategy excels and flounders. How much has changed, how much needs to change, and where the good and bad points are on the site should all be evident.
At AutoGrow, often our marketing strategy becomes a group discussion. It is beneficial to brainstorm on things that are going well, things that need improvement, and any new ideas. Going through a checklist and re-evaluating from time to time is a great way to make sure the business is always moving forward. Check out the video below if you want a quick look at our business values and goals:
http://youtu.be/acJQQKZiJow
Going over the list above at various times in your business growth will be a good way to make sure that you are always on track. That is why having this checklist is better than having a whole answer key!
The answers that you come up with will be tailored to and specific to your brand. Often, knowing where to begin is the hardest part so I hope this list offers an easy jumping-off point!
Quick reminder to think about:
- The company in general
- The analytics
- The content
- The optimization and landing pages
- The email campaign
- The growth of the brand
So how did your marketing strategy fair?
Any important questions I missed?
Anything you want to add that will help a fellow marketing superstar? Comment below!
feature image: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/203858320602693351/
