It’s no secret that we’ve spent much of our lives anxious to accomplish some sort of end goal. As kids, we couldn’t wait to “get big” and drive a car, or move out and really start our lives. As adults in the business world, we are eager to see the results of our marketing and sales efforts. While we hope that we can push a launch button and see results roll in, it often takes time to gather real, measurable results.
So why is that? We know it takes time, but how much time, exactly?
A World of Uncertainty
Unfortunately, this very frequently asked question doesn’t have an exact answer. It may be unsatisfying to hear, but truth is that “it depends:” on the length of the campaign, the number of recipients, whether they’re warm or cold, how many times you’ve reached them in the past…
You get the idea.
Part of the uncertainty is based on your level of participation in the campaign preparedness: are you responsive and engaged? Hitting milestones and meeting deadlines? As much as it’s your team’s responsibility to launch marketing initiatives on your behalf, they need your time and attention in order to produce a successful campaign; you’ll need to be explicit and direct with regard to your expectations.
This uncertainty also depends on the engagement of your clients: are they interacting with the materials you’re producing? This process may lead to A/B, or version, testing. When we try a new tactic, it may take a few iterations before we find the sweet spot of success. This is a completely normal part of the marketing process—not everything will be perfect right out of the gate.
The good news, though, is that no one tactic exists in a vacuum; all of your marketing efforts work together to complement each other. SEO may be your longest-term play, especially if your business is in a crowded marketplace, but your rankings can sometimes quickly improve with the help of blogging and social media ads in addition to adding well-researched keywords to your website, for example.
Consistency is a critical factor in seeing results. You can’t just do one thing and expect to be overflowing in leads; the more often your company gets in front of your prospects, the more likely they are to pursue your services. This is actually a key factor in account-based marketing—we want to make prospects come to us, not the other way around, when we’ve successfully answered their basic questions with our content and they’re ready to talk decisions.
Contact us today for more information about timelines in marketing campaigns.
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