As a small business owner, you understand the importance of making every dollar and minute that you put into your business count. This is why marketing can be so incredibly frustrating. 

You know marketing is an important and necessary function of business. However the results of your marketing efforts may take time, so it is understandable why many businesses cut marketing campaigns short or stop their marketing efforts altogether. 

This is a mistake. 

Just because a marketing campaign is not showing the desired results immediately does not mean it cannot be salvaged. All it means is that you have not found the right approach to marketing. 

So how can you get a struggling marketing campaign back on track?

The first thing is to remember that marketing your business is NOT an option. It is something that you MUST do in order to stay relevant. 

Second, remember that there are steps you can take to improve how you promote yourself and your business. 

Let’s examine what those steps are. 

Review Analytics

The first step in troubleshooting a struggling marketing campaign is to get an understanding of what is and is not working. To do this, you must look at your marketing analytics. 

Your analytics will help you understand how well your messaging is, or is not, connecting with your target audience. 

You really want to see if there is anything from what you are currently doing that is working. If you see certain emails get a higher open rate, look to see if there is a keyword or topic that is shared by these emails. This might denote that your audience is looking for more content relating to that subject. 

Once you know what appears to be working, you can determine how to do more of that moving forward. Anything that does not appear to be working, can be put aside permanently or potentially retooled for future use. 

Reset Goals

Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves and set goals that are a little too ambitious. That is ok. There can be factors that arose that you did not or could not have considered that make your current goals unattainable. 

If that is the case, then take some time to reset your goals to something that you are more confident you can meet. This does not mean that you can’t be ambitious with your goal setting.

Still push yourself and your team. Just remember that it might take longer to achieve your larger goals, so it might help to set smaller goals that will keep you and your team motivated. 

Review Your Target Audience

If your messaging is not connecting with your audience, you might have to change who you are targeting. Go back and review who your current best customers are. Now look at your current messaging. 

Does your messaging speak to the needs of the audience you are targeting? Be honest here and truly be critical of the content you are sharing. 

If you believe the content is good, then maybe you need to tweak the audience a bit. You may have to create a customer avatar, if you have not done so already. 

Remember, the key here is to make sure you are positioning your business to connect with your best potential customers. 

Look At Marketing Channels

Once you look at your target audience, you want to review how you are communicating with them via your marketing efforts. This means looking at the marketing channels you use to disseminate your message. 

If you have a B2B audience, make sure you utilize LinkedIn. If your audience is younger, then Instagram and Snapchat should be part of your mix. 

Again the key is to connect with your audience and to do so on their terms. 

Reach Out To Local Partners

Another great way to jumpstart your marketing efforts is to connect with other businesses in your local area. Look at connections that you feel good about reaching out to and see if they are willing to collaborate with you. 

You can host a webinar or networking event together or send content to each other’s audiences. Essentially what you are doing by reaching out is asking if you can have access to their audience. If you are considering reaching out to local businesses to partner up, make sure that you make it worth their time. 

The last thing to remember about turning around a struggling marketing campaign is to remain positive. Rarely do you see instant results. However if you stay positive, remember that marketing is an essential activity, and follow the steps outlined above, you will find the correct way to promote your business. 

You just have to believe in yourself and your message.