Tighter economic times have made companies more careful than ever with their marketing budgets. However, amazingly a huge number of businesses are still not utilizing cheap and easy tools--right at their fingertips--to help them hone their marketing strategy and marketing effectiveness. Instead, many companies are using out of date practices and reducing the amount of marketing they are doing from fear of lost money. Instead, they should be analyzing what is and isn't working so they can improve and maximize marketing ROI. Surprisingly, even business coaches and marketing consulting agencies are making these costly mistakes. Ignoring data and marketing metrics right in front of you is like complaining you are broke while burning a hundred dollar bill.
Before spending good money to test advertising initiatives or strategies, it is crucial you do good research. The research process doesn't always have to be incredibly expensive or lengthy, but it should be the foundation for any business decision. A great product or service isn't going to be of much value if you don't have advertising skills or an idea of what is working in the current environment. It is always best to bounce your ideas off a marketing professional before testing advertising ideas. If you're on a tight budget, you can also analyze and research what is working for the competition or outsource the research for a few hundred dollars to a third party that can provide an outside point of view.
