At the end of each fiscal year, I recommend that every organization does a comprehensive review of how their marketing worked.

We did this recently with a client and we had some great “a-ha” moments of learning. Here are just a couple of examples:

1. Google Ads aren’t performing well for branding, but they did brilliantly for selling conference tickets.
2. Organic traffic to the website was outperforming ads.
3. Conferences were great for lead generation and closing deals.

Pretty profound findings, yes?

What’s great about doing a year-end analysis is this: it clarifies the path forward. Looking at the data above, for example, we crafted a plan for 2025 that includes:

1. Testing to see if Google Ads were appropriate for branding efforts – with the goal of stopping them if they don’t perform.
2. Speaking to SEO specialists about increasing organic traffic further.
3. Helping Sales to double-down on conferences, to generate more leads and sales.

When I focus on data, it’s because understanding what the data is telling you is the first step in creating a winning strategy. To do this well, it means taking the time to aggregate and examine all the data. Only then can you understand what it’s telling you about your results.

Are you doing this now internally, or with your agency? If not, I recommend that you take the time to sit down and look at your data so that you, too, can create a winning strategy for 2025.

Here’s what you need to do this:

1. Look at all the marketing you did in 2024.
2. Break it down by channel and spend.
3. Track back, from sales, where the leads or sales came from.
4. Match sales leads to marketing channel. For example, if a lot of sales were closed at conferences, then you know the conferences are a good marketing channel for you.
5. See how much each lead is generating in revenues.
6. See how much each lead is generating in costs.
7. Do the math – revenues minus costs – to see what channels are working most effectively for you and generating the highest revenues.

If sales and marketing are too busy this time of year to be able to do this type of review, make it a priority for early January. By the end of the month, you should have your plan in place for the rest of the year.

Not sure where or how to do this review? Contact me and let’s talk.