Dec 20, 2024

Measuring success with a marketing plan

I don’t know about you, but I need a plan to get up in the morning. Without one, there is a good chance that not much gets done that day. If you own a business, you’re told you need a business plan and a financial plan, and now I’m suggesting you need a marketing plan. 

Creating a marketing plan is essential for guiding your business’ marketing efforts and ensuring you achieve your goals. The first thing to do is set some marketing campaign goals. Clearly define your goals with specific, measurable metrics. 

For example, instead of saying “increase email subscribers,” specify “increase email subscribers by 50% by next quarter.” Define what success looks like at the end of your campaign. What do you want to achieve? Increased foot traffic, higher sales, more social media engagement or greater customer retention?

To start, you need to think about what you want to accomplish with your marketing. My former colleague, Penn State Extension educator John Berry, suggests, “Start at the end. What is expected to be accomplished by our marketing?”

What do we want to happen by the end of our marketing campaign? Whatever we choose, we need to measure the success of our various marketing efforts.

Perhaps it’s simply to engage with our customers and ultimately increase sales. If so, we need to consider who those customers are, their demographic and where they get their information. Develop detailed profiles of your target customers based on demographic information, behaviors and preferences. This helps tailor your marketing strategies to meet customers’ needs. Once we know that, we need to determine the length of the marketing plan or campaign. 

Key performance indicators (KPIs) 

KPIs can be used to identify the metrics you will use to measure the success of your marketing efforts, including website traffic, conversion rates and sales revenue. Track total sales, average transaction value and sales per product category. Monitor social media likes, shares, comments and email open rates to track customer engagement. 

Create an action plan

Outline the specific tactics you will use to achieve your marketing goals, including content creation, social media campaigns and paid advertising. Include a timeline and budget for each activity.

An email list might be your most important vehicle. You have a group of people who already agreed to interact with you, and it’s probably your lowest-cost marketing tool. They are waiting to hear from you. What do you want them to know?

Analyze results

Track and analyze your KPIs against your initial objectives to measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. Use analytics tools to monitor performance and make data-driven adjustments. Look for patterns in customer behavior, sales peaks and popular products. Be flexible and ready to adjust your strategies based on what the data tells you. Share your findings with your team to ensure everyone is aligned and informed. 

By systematically evaluating your marketing efforts, you can make informed decisions that enhance the effectiveness of your campaigns and ultimately drive better results for your retail farm market.

— Brian Moyer is an educational program associate with Penn State Extension. As founder of PA Farm Markets LLC and founder and manager of the Skippack Farmers Market, Moyer specializes in assisting farmers markets, retail farm markets, direct-to-consumer sales, and new and beginning farmers with marketing, business and regulatory issues.

Creating a marketing plan is essential for guiding a farm market’s business’ marketing efforts.