I am a big believer in the high value of measuring to improve performance. From athletic endeavors to small business performance, we can create focus and improve results by keeping score on the “RIGHT THINGS.”
Marketing for small business might be one area where tracking the ‘easy-to-measure’ activity distracts us from the really important work of communicating value to the market. Our team can get very busy with networking activities and measure all sorts of data from the digital world (web traffic, social media follows, likes, etc). The problem is that these numbers can move dramatically in a positive direction but actual revenue will remain flat, or shrink. Hmmmmm.
In our consulting business the most important result our marketing should produce is 1-1 meetings with qualified prospects. Retweets, likes, friends and follows are great, but seldom result in a meeting.
“When we lose track of what’s important to keep track of what’s measurable, we fail.” – Seth Godin
Easy measurements shouldn’t set strategic priorities. Apply judicious amounts of common sense, wisdom and experience to stay on top of the “RIGHT THINGS.” Clarity precedes results; leaders create clarity.