11outof11 - A Blog For Business Owners Looking To Grow

What to Do When Your Marketing Measurables are Off Track

It’s been a tough time for small to midsize U.S. businesses. Between battling a global pandemic, enduring economic upheaval, and facing a nationwide hiring and retention crisis, many businesses have had trouble staying on track.

So, what’s the current status of your small business marketing plan? Are your marketing measurables veering off into the danger zone?

Now’s the time for your Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS) to shine. The EOS system is known for its ability to generate Traction®, which is the driving force that keeps marketing metrics in line during challenging times.

What is EOS Traction®?

EOS Traction® describes the focus, discipline, and accountability it takes for a team to scale up and succeed, day after day. Traction is perhaps the most famous aspect of EOS, but broadly speaking, the EOS model helps companies maintain focus on three main aspects of small business management: Traction, vision, and health.

Together, these three EOS components drive success. Companies with traction have reliable methods of relentlessly hitting benchmarks, no matter what kinds of challenges they face. They also have a clear, unified vision of what success looks like and their culture is healthy and cohesive enough to achieve it.

Marketing measurables are the “secret sauce” that adds a dash of something extra special to the EOS business model. These metrics show whether your company is struggling, surviving, or thriving.

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Getting Your Marketing Measurables Back on Track

Part of the EOS process is creating your company’s unique EOS Scorecard®. It includes your marketing metrics - the measurable data you’ll be tracking to ensure everything remains at the right level for long-term success.

Some marketing metrics are no-brainers, like your website visitors and sales numbers. You have to know whether people are going to your website and buying your products, or it’s impossible to tell whether you’ll be in business next month!

However, other metrics are much more detailed and specific to your services, industry, company, and desired outcomes. For example, 11outof11 recommends that small to midsize B2B companies track gated content downloads due to a strong correlation with qualified lead conversion.

When your scorecard shows that your marketing measurables are headed off track, the EOS operating system has built-in methods of getting things back in line. As an example, imagine that your company’s website has a skyrocketing bounce rate. 

The bounce rate is a site’s percentage of visitors who only visit a single page before quickly “bouncing away” from your site in just a few seconds. A high bounce rate causes some companies to automatically blame their website maintenance person or web design company, then assume that’s as far as it goes. 

Not so! An EOS business realizes that a sky-high bounce rate signals a deeper problem. Could something else be going on?

  • Maybe your company’s content is so bland, site visitors don’t stick around. 
  • Maybe Google is no longer sending you the right kind of traffic
  • Maybe your calls-to-action (CTAs) are too hidden or spammy-looking.
  • Maybe your marketing person is overwhelmed and needs some outside help.
  • Maybe you’re just not measuring your metrics correctly! 

Take time to thoughtfully adjust your calculations. If a site visitor leaves after 15 to 30 seconds, they probably saw something wrong with your content and left. A 2-second visitor could have just clicked onto your page accidentally. Perhaps you’d get more out of a 15-second bounce rate rather than measuring it at 2 seconds. See the difference?

By making small but meaningful adjustments to your measurables, you now have a richer picture of what’s going on with your business. Tiny tweaks can have a huge impact!

Successfully Implementing the EOS Business Strategy

The same concept described above applies to hundreds of marketing metrics to track within the EOS model. Imagine using the EOS system to supercharge your website, provide fresher content, spice up your marketing messages, and even refine your company’s talent acquisition strategy.

Every “bad grade” from a marketing measurable is actually an opportunity. At 11outof11, we’ve seen EOS businesses leverage their slipping marketing metrics to deftly change course and find even greater success than ever before. 

So don’t panic if you see some of your marketing metrics heading off track. Use the EOS system to analyze what’s happening, refine your approach, get back on track, and stay ahead of the pack!

To learn more about what to do about troublesome marketing measurables, connect with 11outof11 and request a complimentary call with a growth-minded marketing expert. Contact us to learn more.

Are you running on EOS®? Download our tip sheet, “Which Marketing Metrics Should be on Your EOS® Scorecard?” for more metrics that will help your company stay on course.

Topics: Market Your Small Business, EOS, EOS & Marketing