Lately I have found myself involved in many conversations about marketing. Whether it’s with DPMs on a webinar or follow-up chat or with vendors launching new products, I answer the same question over and over – what works? What’s worth my time and money? My canned response is always, “You should be everywhere you can afford to be.” But let’s break that down.
Let’s get one thing straight: numbers matter in marketing. But obsessing over a single stat? That’s a rookie move.
PRO TIP: Always use tracking links to track the number of clicks but don’t judge a campaign solely based on those numbers.
It’s easy to see a bump in sales and immediately credit the last campaign you ran. But most buyers don’t act after one touchpoint, they move through a journey. They see your name in a print ad. Then again on Facebook. Then in an email. Then maybe radio, TV, or a postcard in the mail. And then—maybe—they finally pick up the phone or click “Buy.”
Just because they called after seeing an ad doesn’t mean it was because of the ad. Most people need 5–7 touches. Don’t kill a channel too quickly.
That’s why marketing isn’t about pinpointing one magic bullet. It’s about spotting patterns over time and understanding how each piece contributes to the bigger picture.
Metrics That Actually Matter:
Monthly & quarterly spend vs. revenue
Total inquiries and actual sales/customers/patients
New vs. returning customers
New product/service sales
Featured product sales
Channel performance (digital, social, print, events)
Number of clicks/calls per ad type/channel
Marketing as a percentage of revenue
Overall impact (tracks impact when you add or remove marketing channels)
But here’s the kicker: raw numbers don’t tell the whole story.
That radio ad? Maybe no one called directly from it. But it built just enough brand familiarity to help your next email campaign hit harder. That’s not failure – it means it played its part in a larger strategy.
You’re building recognition, trust, and consistency. That only happens when your audience sees you everywhere and finally says, “Alright. Let’s see what they’re about.”
So yes—track everything. Test relentlessly. Watch for trends. But don’t yank the plug on a campaign just because the results aren’t instant.
Marketing is an art, not a science. Most buyers won’t act the first time they see you. But they remember you.
Marketing isn’t about math. It’s about momentum.
Measure over time, not moments. Before you make a change, consider if your decision is based on instinct, data, or both. Value reflection over reaction.
I plan on creating a spreadsheet to track all of these metrics that you can customize for your own purposes. I’ll share it in my next Insider newsletter.
Ann Dosen