5 Ways to Improve your ROI this year

Can you believe we're already almost half way through 2014? It's time to ask yourself, how is your ROI doing this year? Are your marketing goals being reached this year? Are you sticking to the business plan you set for the year?

They say the easiest way to increase profits is to measure results! That includes your marketing results. So before we watch the rest of the year fly by, let me walk you through five easy ways to improve your ROI (Return on Investment) this year.

1.  One easy way to improve your ROI is to set SMART goals now. If you set SMART goals ahead of time you tend to have a clear-cut focus on where to invest your marketing dollars, time and energy. You will cut out things you don't want while pushing toward your SMART goals.
2. Know who you are trying to target and market to them. Knowing your buyer personas will help you fine-tune your marketing efforts. Buyer personas are, “semi-fictional characters who represent your dream customers.” These personas are crucial to all of your content creation because it focuses your aim and vastly improves lead nurturing.
3. Take action. A plan only works when it's put into action. Don't put things off, even if the full task seems daunting take it one small step at a time or recruit help to assist you. Ask people who have experience for their advice, you might be surprised at how much they want to help. Then, come up with an action strategy and pick one chore off at a time. Before you know it, you’re well on your way to the big goal.
4. Stick to the plan and measure your results. Sign up for Google Analytics, add goals in and have it sent to you weekly. Google Analytics is free and will help you track where your website traffic is coming from. Use marketinggrader.com to see where you are stacking up to the competition. Use these tools to give yourself and honest assessment of where you’re at. This will help you improve all your efforts on a weekly, monthly and annual basis.
5. Align yourself with people who will assist you in reaching your goals. This means being smart. Seek out those with a track record of success and be on the lookout for talented individuals with tons of potential. As Woody Hayes said, “you win with people.” Seek those individuals out today and let them put their knowledge and skills to work for you.

Want one more tip: Start today. Right now, in fact. One of the worst things you can do is put things off to tomorrow. You still have plenty of time to reach your goals for 2014. By carefully analyzing what you are doing, aligning yourself with great people and steady work, you will no-doubt begin to see a huge return on your investment.