It feels daunting at first, but there’s nothing more satisfying than the feeling of finishing a deep clean of your home – the fresh scents, the shiny surfaces and the spotless spaces that make everything feel new again.
This spring, when you’ve cleared the cobwebs out of your basement and washed those hard-to-reach windows, consider the critical importance of refreshing your marketing, too. After all, you don’t want your business to get stale and musty while some shiny new competitor emerges and captures your customers’ attention.
Here are four key ways to approach spring cleaning for your marketing this season:
1. Do a deep dive into your site’s search rankings.
Start with a close look at the current state of your website. When was the last time you conducted a thorough SEO audit? Consumers’ online habits are always in flux and search engines constantly shift algorithms, so it’s best to review how your pages are performing on an ongoing basis. That way, you can make small tweaks to things like keywords in real time.
Every website also needs an occasional “deep clean” – an in-depth review that inspects everything from landing page optimization to a link audit that ensures your site’s components are working in concert, creating a streamlined user experience while also boosting search rankings. It’s important to recognize that search is no longer restricted to Google: Where you show up on sites like Facebook, Amazon, eBay and popular directory listings like Yelp can make or break your online success.
There are many ways to approach this type of audit, but it shouldn’t be intimidating, as there are many tools in the market at your disposal.
2. Evaluate your email marketing strategy.
Similarly, step back and take a macro look at your email marketing. Don’t focus on day-to-day performance; instead, identify bigger trends that show what has (and hasn’t) resonated with your audience in the past year, and how you can realign your broader strategy going forward to capitalize on those insights. Are there specific messages and themes that have, over time, elicited the greatest response rates? Is there a certain time or day of the week that tends to outperform others?
It is equally as important to examine your email database: What email addresses should be scrubbed from the list because they’re registering as undeliverable? Who are your most responsive recipients ripe for new offers and calls to action to convert additional sales? Conducting an annual refresh of your email marketing, and acting on the trends you identify along the way, is a small investment that can reap big rewards.
3. Polish up your physical space.
Many people forget that physical spaces are their own communication tools – be it brick-and-mortar storefronts, small offices or any other areas where customers, clients and even coworkers interact with you and your business.
Of course, “spring cleaning” can be quite literal in this context: You should make sure your space is spotless. But it’s also important to look beyond the vacuum and mop and consider what every aspect of your physical space is communicating about your product or service. First impressions are paramount, especially amid an increasingly competitive landscape.
What tone does your front office or lobby set when someone enters the door? How are people greeted? What is the first thing that catches their eye: a clean aesthetic that conveys professionalism, or a cluttered space that feels constrained or claustrophobic? Reevaluate everything from your décor to the flow of how clients and customers navigate your space to ensure it's communicating the experience you want your overall brand to convey.
4. Make the most of your mind space, and make efficiency priority No. 1.
When focusing on physical spaces, however, don’t dismiss the importance of turning your microscope inward and examining where you are personally focusing your brainpower. It’s tough to acknowledge, but your own time is not only extremely valuable – it’s also finite.
Examine every task through the lens of what you are uniquely suited to do: the processes, decisions and communications that require your specific skills and expertise. If you’re a marketer, this may mean focusing on higher-level strategic thinking and delegating lower-level tasks. If you’re a small business owner, it could mean outsourcing anything from marketing to accounting to landscaping so you can excel in the areas that best differentiate your business in the first place.
Scour your processes and procedures for opportunities to streamline steps. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and go through the purchasing process. Were you required to speak with too many people, or did you receive efficient and convenient customer service? If it’s an online transaction, were you forced to click through countless pages, wondering if you’d ever reach a confirmation message? Or, was it a simple experience that would encourage you to make repeat purchases? Eliminating unnecessary steps for you and your customers will allow you to focus on tasks that have the greatest ROI.
It may feel like you’re being pulled in a million directions, barely treading water to keep afloat with the responsibilities that already fill your plate. But consider how much better you feel after giving your home a deep spring cleaning, experiencing that sense of relief and calm (not to mention the fact that it helps ensure the longevity of your most valuable investments).
You’ll feel a similar sense of accomplishment and rejuvenation when you take the time to spruce up your marketing strategy with these simple tactics.
