*This post was originally posted on 11/19/2020. Updated 8/30/2024.
Developing an effective marketing strategy that consistently drives results is a marathon, not a sprint. While some marketing experts say it can take six months to one year to start seeing meaningful results, a more realistic response is, “It depends.” Numerous considerations are involved, including budget, target audience, and platform. Regardless, it takes patience, focus, and evaluation to determine if your strategy is working.
A solid foundation is the first step in creating a successful marketing plan.
Begin the process with the following:
- Defining your goal
- Articulating your company’s mission and vision
- Fine-tuning your brand story
- Defining your unique selling proposition (USP)
- Drafting detailed client personas
- Agreeing on a realistic budget
- Defining and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs)
Based on the above directives, you begin to understand why it takes time and patience to see results.
Let’s drill down for a deeper understanding of one marketing component for reference.
Ranking for Your Website and Content Strategy
Think of the Internet as a vast global kingdom and Google as the monarch. You can search for anything online, but that doesn’t mean every website or blog will appear on page one. Google, Bing, and other search engines use bots and algorithms to determine rankings.
Part of your marketing strategy should include understanding the “whys and hows” of website rankings. There are multiple factors to consider:
- Is it visually appealing?
- Have you incorporated SEO best practices?
- Have you clearly defined your target audience?
- Are you using landing pages?
- What about link building?
- Does each website include internal links?
- Is it easy to navigate?
Paying careful attention to these details will help rank your website, but don’t expect miracles overnight. SEO takes time, especially when the competition is high.
Next, let’s talk about content and thought leadership. Just because your business publishes content doesn’t necessarily mean your target audience is reading it – but that also doesn’t mean you should stop. That’s where content strategy comes into play. It’s all about creating content that helps people solve problems, find answers, learn, and grow. This includes everything from blog posts to videos, eBooks, infographics, and social media posts.
Content should help customers understand how your product or service works, why it matters, and how it can benefit them. As you consistently produce relevant, high-quality content, you’ll build momentum. The search engines will reward you for your efforts. By linking to other reputable sites, gaining page shares and comments, and targeting the right keywords and phrases, your ranking will slowly improve. Be patient. You may be tempted to halt or change course dramatically after a few months, but consistency is key.
Remember, building trust and credibility also takes time. Once a potential customer visits your site, your content and messaging should leave them wanting more. You need to capture their attention so they click on other blogs or visit your service pages. Return visitors can be just as important as new visitors when it comes to marketing.
How Do I Know if My Marketing Strategy is Working?
Having patience is only one aspect of the marketing plan. Using the SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) framework will focus your efforts and support the company’s long-term objectives.
Set measurable goals. Use data analytic tools to your advantage so you can track how well your marketing strategies are performing. Measuring sales and web traffic are two of the easiest ways to determine if your marketing strategies are working. Use a tool like Google Analytics, which can easily calculate a broad range of data for any business; plus, it’s free. Begin with setting realistic expectations for growth or conversion rates. Aiming for a 50% increase in traffic or 100 leads within a month is likely setting yourself up for disappointment. Be reasonable, remain focused, and start small.
Avoid drastic changes. As noted above, the more changes you make to your marketing strategy in a short timeframe, the more difficult it is to gauge results. Resist the urge to pivot when things aren’t going as planned. Remember, it can take several months to see actual results. Give your plan time to work, reach audiences, and rank across the major search engines.
Make small adjustments. As you monitor progress, you may see trends regarding what performs well and what interests customers. If blogs with videos or graphics get more hits, continue incorporating those features in future posts. If you’re getting a lot of traffic from a specific topic, consider building it out and going more in-depth; on the other hand, if another topic is not doing well, move on for now. You can continually readjust and come back to it later with a different approach.
Trust the Process
Our society thrives on instant gratification; people are easily distracted and expect immediate answers to their questions. If not, something must be wrong. Trust the process and give it time to work. You must take the long view once you’ve researched and put the pieces in place. Marketing is a fluid process. As market conditions change and trends rise and fall, there are always opportunities to improve your plan.
If your business isn’t seeing results from its marketing efforts, it’s time to partner with YGL Enterprises. We can audit your current strategies, identify areas for improvement, and develop a plan tailored to your unique needs and goals. With the right tactics in place, positive results will follow. Contact us today to schedule a consultation!
Yvonne Levine, president of YGL Enterprises, Inc., is a strategic marketing consultant who collaborates with professional services organizations and small and mid-sized businesses to develop and execute successful marketing strategies, branding initiatives, content creation, and digital marketing plans. Helping companies devise a targeted strategy first creates a strong foundation for tactical decisions, which drives brand awareness and positive results. Follow Yvonne on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Yvonne Levine, president of