Want better marketing results? Here's the big question you forgot to ask.

Last night I was watching TV and, as usual, trying to accomplish other things I felt were way more productive. I didn't even think I was paying attention but then I heard, "The two most important questions you can ask yourself are 'Why?' and 'Why not?'"

Brilliant! I instantly went to my special marketing place. You see, I am a self-proclaimed testing nerd. With every marketing campaign, I am constantly asking these two questions. However, I find that at the end of the day, most people only care about why not and somewhere along the way the why gets totally ignored. I attribute that to human nature.

We want to fix what’s not working instead of nurturing what is working.

With hot summer days around the corner, let me ask you a question you can relate to. Do you have your air conditioner at home serviced twice a year so you know it’s going to be there for you when you really need it? Or, like most, do you put it out of your mind until it breaks down on a 95 degree day and then you are forced to make a frantic call to a local repair place to come FIX IT!

Think of nurture marketing as a maintenance plan for your customers. Don’t think you can neglect them for months, then we you need to fill your sales quota, you can reach out and they will be there ready to buy. You can read more about the philosophy behind Nurture Marketing on our site, but I should get back to the whole why and why not thing. Bear with me, it’s all related.

Say your latest marketing email returned lower numbers than you expected.

• You sent 1,000 emails to your general marketing list
• Of those 1,000 emails, 100 people opened it (10%)
• Of the 100 that opened that email, 2 people clicked on your link (2%)

Oh no! You totally expected click percentages in the double digits! Now you are so disappointed in the 2% you immediately focus on what went wrong. They didn’t like your email. Why not? You must fix this! So you start moving graphics, changing subject lines, anything you can do to grab the attention of the 998 people that didn’t click. Predicting what 998 want to click on? That’s a lot of pressure! 

I’m not saying you should ignore what isn’t working. Analytics are important. But, what if you forgot about the number for a moment? What if you started focusing on the person behind the number?

Now you have 2 people that DID click. Why did they engage? What did they like about the report? Was it helpful for a challenge they are facing right now? Pick up the phone and ask them why they clicked! Then, you take those 2 people and immediately put what you learned into your CRM software or your client database, so going forward you know exactly what they need from you.

Over time, with some diligence and patience, those 2 people become 4 people, then 40, and before you know it 400 loyal customers are engaging with your marketing. Your list becomes clean, targeted and effective. And it all started by asking why.
 

Author: Michelle Etherton, Creative Director for Nurture Marketing