Marketers are infatuated with aesthetics. Modern day marketing strategies have come to overstress creativity and innovativeness, rather than effectiveness. Surely, an inventive approach is important for a strong marketing initiative, but it is not imperative . Regardless of creativity, if your campaign is not generating leads then marketing has become fruitless.

When evaluating the performance of your marketing campaign, ask yourself, “Did I get more leads? Did my sales increase?” If the answer is no, then your marketing campaign has a low ROI and you need to re-think your strategy.

Here are ten marketing tips that can help increase sales (in no particular order).

  1. Become an industry thought-leader: Publishing self-serving content that talks about how great your product is for the sake of ‘brand awareness’ is ineffective. Instead, focus on content that provides value to the viewer. For example, create a blog or webinar series that addresses best-in-breed solutions for industry challenges. Serve as a thought-leader, as opposed to a business that just sells something. Doing so is instrumental in establishing your business as an industry leader. If the market recognizes you as an industry leader, you will naturally generate more sales.
  2. Get in front of decision-makers: This is primarily for businesses in B2B markets. If you’re not getting your content in front of decision makers, then you’re wasting your time and money. Sure, it’s great to have people interested in your brand, but decision makers are the ones who have the ability to turn that interest into action. Awareness-interest-desire-action-close. Getting in-front of decision-makers facilitates the closing process.
  3. Sell a story, not a product: People don’t buy products, they buy stories. Stories help the consumer rationalize the decision to buy the product and confirm that they made a wise choice long after purchase. For instance, Crest doesn’t simply sell toothpaste, they sell the feeling of clean, whitened teeth, free of cavities and gingivitis! Your buying into that notion. Great stories are remembered and revered, all while helping to form the essence of your brand.
  4. Get personal: Email marketing is only effective if you can avoid coming off as “spammy.” Do so by personalizing email introductions with the first name of the recipient and be sure to use ‘bcc’ instead of ‘cc’ when doing e-mail blasts. In addition, establish a good customer service reputation by asking, “How is everything going?” or “How was your holiday?”. Jumping right into a sales pitch or marketing content without personalization is a surefire way to land in the spam folder.
  5. Timing is everything: Align your departments. Ensure sales, product development, and marketing are all on the same page. If your product isn’t ready to be sold, then don’t waste your time marketing it. If your sales team is lacking the closing skills, then marketing spend becomes a sunk cost. Remember, the ultimate purpose of marketing is to increase lead generation, so make sure your company is adequately prepared for it or it will cost you money and your brand credibility.
  6. Ask for referrals: After you close the deal, ensure that the customer will serve as a reference account. How did you meet most of your friends? Through other friends! Businesses can obtain new customers in a similar manner. All you have to do is ask! Offer an incentive and more than likely, the customer will oblige. Referrals are a cheap and effective method for acquiring new clients.
  7. Put first things first: There are so many things you can do in marketing, so make sure you prioritize. Spend the most time on marketing initiatives that have the capacity to generate the most revenue and worry less about the ones that are solely for awareness. Thorough planning and successful execution of your thought-leadership conference is much more important than tweeting about it!
  8. Target conversions, not impressions: An impression in digital marketing is akin to window-shopping at a mall. Yeah, people see it there, but they’re not actually interested. If your banner ad is receiving 10,000 impressions a month, but only 5 clicks, then it’s useless. When evaluating digital marketing campaigns, use conversions as an indication of success, not impressions.
  9. Prioritize SEO for organic growth: Search Engine Optimization and accelerating organic growth is essential for facilitating the sale process.Research claims SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads (such as direct mail or print advertising) have a 1.7% close rate. Hire an expert or outsource an SEO optimization firm to guarantee that your company ranks higher in organic searches.
  10. Pick and choose, wisely: It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality. There is no need to go to every trade show in your industry or to put your ad in every newspaper across the country. Rather, see which ones give you the greatest return and focus your efforts there. Eliminate marketing platforms that have minimal monetization opportunity and repurpose your efforts to those that have higher ones.

The challenge of marketing lies in figuring out how to inspire your target market to believe that your product or service is valuable to them. Successful marketing campaigns do more than generate brand awareness: they create interest, persuade action, and ultimately, increase sales. So have a sales-first mentality when strategizing to ensure that your marketing campaign is effective and generating revenue for your company!