3 Key Steps to Revamp Your Marketing Strategies for 2021
When you planned your marketing strategies this time last year, you never could have expected the challenges that 2020 would bring. Now that we're in the final quarter of the year, it's time to review the marketing you did this year, acknowledge what worked and what didn't, and decide which strategies to continue in 2021.
When you planned your marketing strategies this time last year, you never could have expected the challenges that 2020 would bring. Now that we're in the final quarter of the year, it's time to review the marketing you did this year, acknowledge what worked and what didn't, and decide which strategies to continue in 2021.
1. Review Your 2020 Marketing Metrics
Lab managers can apply their unique scientific analysis skills to marketing. When considering your marketing strategies, you don't have to guess — you can check the numbers. Look at the last year to see which marketing channels generated the best results. Social media and email marketing are conveniently trackable. Review your key performance indicators (KPIs), such as:
- Click rates, such as how many people clicked on a link you shared on Facebook.
- Open rates, such as how many people opened your email newsletter.
- Conversion rates, such as how many people who saw your LinkedIn post actually purchased the specific testing service you were promoting.
When reviewing your marketing, look at overall metrics (such as your average open rate for email newsletters) and also drill down on specific marketing campaigns. For example, you can run a report from your email marketing software and sort it by click rate to get a sense of which subject lines enticed people to open the message.
2. Track Your Progress Toward Long-Term Goals
Before finalizing your 2021 marketing strategy, it's also important to track the progress you made this year toward long-term marketing goals, such as brand recognition, visibility, and exposure. Did you capture your customers' attention by sharing industry news or build your reputation in the community by hosting virtual events?
Although it may be a bit more involved, there are ways to attach KPIs to your long-term goals. Databox suggests that if your goal is to increase brand awareness, a metric to indicate success is your website's organic traffic — in other words, how many people came to your website on their own. You can also keep track of how many people called your lab to inquire about water testing services.
Make sure you document how each of these prospective customers found you so you can determine which of your marketing strategies are generating results. If you're not sure how clients found you, consider adding this question to your chain of custody forms. According to Lab Manager, this type of information should already be stored in your LIMS. If it's not there already, now is a great time to reconfigure your system settings so that you can capture it next year.
3. Plan for the New Normal
While you couldn't have predicted the unprecedented workplace challenges that happened in 2020, you're much more aware of the economic climate heading into 2021. Your marketing plan for next year will likely look a bit different to account for the circumstances.
For instance, many of the industry conferences that you typically attend in person will be digital events. Although this means you'll miss the chance to connect with potential clients in person, the widespread shift to digital events can have several benefits for your lab. First, you will spend much less money attending conferences; you no longer need a travel budget and can reallocate those funds for other marketing strategies. Plus, you can now easily attend online events that you would not otherwise have been able to attend.
Another trend of the moment is a huge shift in awareness about public health. This is a good time to capitalize on the fact that people are now more educated and concerned about their health, so consider creating some marketing assets that target residential customers if that makes sense for your services offerings.
At the same time, you can embrace new opportunities for water labs, such as testing wastewater for the novel coronavirus. You might have previously marketed your wastewater testing services to municipal treatment facilities, but now, you can also market this service to schools and other large institutions.
This has been a difficult year for businesses and individuals. Putting a solid marketing plan in place will help your lab remain resilient enough to face whatever challenges come in the year ahead.
By taking these steps, water lab managers can be better positioned to see what worked, what didn't, and then put limited resources where they are more likely to generate new clients.
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