Analyzing Your Marketing Materials

Marketing is an essential component of any effective business strategy—but to truly derive value from your marketing efforts, you need to analyze whether or not the content is making an impact on your customers. It’s important to make sure that your marketing materials are designed with your customer’s needs and desires in mind. The most successful marketing provides value to the consumer and is not overly self-promotional.

However, businesses sometimes struggle to create meaningful ads that reflect the customer’s needs and wants because the ads are created solely from the company’s perspective. Though you can try to imagine what your customers are interested in seeing, it’s easy to miss the mark and waste time and advertising dollars on campaigns that are entirely a representation of your own interests.

To determine whether or not your advertising is leaving the right impression on your customers, try answering these top three questions as if you were the recipient of your message. Think like a customer and imagine what types of advertisements would really catch your interest and draw you to a particular product or company.

1. Is the ad easy to understand and relatable?

Ads that appeal to consumers are clear and easy to understand—and they are relatable and engaging to the group you’re targeting. Customers shouldn’t have to think too hard to figure out what you’re trying to sell or why they should buy it. Highlight the benefits of your product or the reasons to choose your service upfront, and show people why your company is the best choice. Additionally, make sure your ad is relatable and written for your customers. Avoid jargon, technical language, and esoteric industry terms that the average customer might not understand. Instead, keep the language and imagery in your ads simple and clear at all times.

2. Is the offer relevant?

Your ad must also be relevant to the customer. As you analyze your marketing materials, figure out how each component appeals to different types of customers and think about what you’re doing to sell to each person. Are you highlighting the convenience, price, or benefits of a new product? Are you hoping to appeal to someone who wants an all-in-one solution or a unique product that fulfills a very specific need? Think about how your marketing materials highlight these selling points and make sure that your offer is relevant to the customers you’ll be advertising to.

3. Is the ad marketed in the right places?

Finally, make sure you’re marketing in the places where customers are most likely to see your ad. As you consider your ideal customer profiles, think about where each type of person is most likely to look for new information. While some customers in your industry might be looking for product information in trade journals or online newsletters, a younger customer might be more likely to see your ad online or through a mobile website. Consider a range of marketing avenues—including television, search engine results, radio, magazines, direct mail, email newsletters, social media, and newspapers—and figure out where your target customers are most likely to spend their time.

Analyzing your ads from the perspective of your customers is one of the most important things you can do to improve the effectiveness of your marketing and to start seeing better results. From creating the ad to measuring the impact it has on your audience, the team at Red Crow Marketing can guide you through each step of the process. Contact us at 417-889-1658 or email ron@redcrowmarketing.com to learn more about what we can do for your business.