Spring cleaning your marketing strategy

At Trilix, we like to remind our clients to dust off their marketing strategy and take a good hard look at how it’s been performing.

Declutter your marketing strategy

Here are some steps to make sure you’re not holding on to marketing practices that don’t align with your goals anymore.

• Conduct an audit. Imagine spring cleaning your house room by room, assessing each space to decide what needs the most attention. Do the same as you address your current marketing efforts. Look back over the last 12 months to analyze campaign results, social media engagement, email open rates and website traffic. What content has performed poorly? Are there certain channels that aren’t reaching enough of your target audience? More importantly, are you using tactics that simply seem like a chore to keep up with?
• Get rid of everything that doesn't work. Just as you shouldn’t keep a broken clock or a coat that you haven’t worn in years, discard things that aren’t useful anymore so you can make room for what works. Don’t be afraid to toss outdated social media content or messaging that hasn’t converted enough leads over time. Have you been using the same templates for years? Chances are, your audience is tired of seeing them, too. Misusing resources on practices that aren’t growing your business is simply wasting time and money.

Reserve some space in the “good” pile

You have likely been implementing several tactics that are still working well. From your audit, you should be able to identify some quality content that sparks engagement. Maybe there was an event or ad campaign that performed well and exceeded your goals. Perhaps you’re surprised by how well a podcast or YouTube channel is performing. These are the tactics you’ll want to invest more time and resources in. Keep them in your marketing strategy, but remember to continuously monitor their performance to ensure they are still bringing in results.

Dive into the new-and-improved

Now that you've decluttered, you’re ready to work on a creative refresh. This is where a third-party marketing partner or marketing expert can help realign your plan.

• Refresh your goals. Similar to the style of clothes we have in our closets, business goals should change over time. Two important rules for setting marketing goals are they should be measurable and align with the core mission of your business. Do you want to increase brand awareness? Set a target number for followers or online engagement and get to work on a new digital ad campaign. Are you interested in getting more (and better) leads? Update your goal for conversion numbers and change your call to action.
• Be on top of the latest trends. Don’t settle for the status quo. Marketing trends can change dramatically — and quickly. Make sure you are up to speed with the latest tactics, so you don’t fall behind your competition. Sometimes, this means stretching out of your comfort zone to try new approaches, such as using more interactive content or influencers to help you stand out. It’s our job at Trilix to research and understand the latest trends in the industry. We can identify (and implement) the ones that will help you meet your goals and ensure the trends you want to try align with existing efforts.
• Spruce up your messaging. How we “talk” to customers can make or break a business. And hearing the same thing repeatedly can dissolve into white noise after a while. Just as we want our wardrobes to reflect current fashion trends, our messaging should feel fresh and relevant, too. It’s always wise to give it a good once-over. Start by reviewing social media posts, newsletters and website copy. Make small tweaks (or entire overhauls) depending on your objectives and your customers’ needs. Trilix has a team of writers who can deliver compelling content — and keep it on point all year.

Keep it clean

It’s always easier to clean when things aren’t too dirty. Keeping a clean house means giving it regular attention. The same holds true for marketing strategies. While spring cleaning is a great place to start, don’t let your marketing efforts collect dust the rest of the year. Take time to reevaluate and refresh your approach on a regular basis. Monitor your performance, shift tactics if necessary and decide what new trends might work for you. By doing this throughout the year, “cleaning up” won’t seem like such a chore.