No one suffers more through tough economic times than small businesses. While you may fully understand 
the importance of effective marketing when the economy struggles, the temptation to ease up on the financial drain on the budget may delude you into thinking that you can ride it out and pull back on some of your marketing expenses. However, the true solution to your problem may not be to cut back on your marketing efforts, but instead, devise strategies that will increase marketing productivity for your team.
3 Ways to Increase Marketing Productivity
Productivity vs. Efficiency
In order to fully understand what productivity means within a marketing context, business owners must realize that efficiency and productivity are not exactly the same. It is important to realize the subtle differences between the two. In short, efficiency focuses on the quality of the work you put out, i.e. producing more while using fewer resources. On the other hand, productivity measures how much you produce over a period of time. You must first be able to understand these small differences in order to see the positive results you’re seeking in your marketing productivity.
The Challenge
Quite often business owners who do their own marketing do not fully understand the many variables involved in a marketing plan. They assume that if they increase their marketing expenditures by a certain percentage that their returns will reflect that certain percentage. They fail to recognize that economic factors, competition, and other external stimuli can also take a toll on their efforts to increase marketing productivity. Instead, they should consider implementing a number of productivity tools in their marketing plan. These can come in the form of marketing productivity software or by hiring productivity services specifically designed to help a business to enhance specific areas of their marketing plan.
Measuring Results
No matter what area of your marketing you are focusing on, without a quantifiable way to measure results, you won’t be able to fully understand how well your marketing strategies are paying off. It’s important to have a good analytical approach to your work to make sure that you stay on track. This type of measurement can be easily done by investing in a marketing productivity suite, which can discern what pages visitors see, how often they visit, and who they are. This type of information is crucial in generating the leads you need to propel your business forward.
