In this edition of E-Angle, we answer the burning question: "What the heck is a Marketing Peel, and what does it have to do with onions???"

One of the biggest challenges companies and business owners face today is determining their return on marketing investment (ROMI). It can be very difficult to figure out which of your marketing efforts are actually paying off, and which ones are . . . well, less successful than you would like.

Consider the benefits of a Marketing Peel. Just like an onion, a Marketing Peel allows you to strip away the many layers and costs of your marketing plan to determine exactly what is working for you. However, unlike an onion, Marketing Peels should not make you cry – they help you see more clearly! The Marketing Peel also takes away the frustration of many companies, who often feel that their marketing efforts are having no effect on the bottom line. The Marketing Peel puts to rest, once and for all, the eternal question of "Am I making any money from my marketing plan?"

Here are some simple steps to start your own Marketing Peel.

• Begin by analyzing the various services your company provides. By looking at your company financials, you will be able to determine what services are the most lucrative for your company.
• Look at your marketing plan and analyze your spending based on your services. In general, you should be spending the majority of your dollars on marketing the service areas that provide the most revenue. This is probably a “duh” assumption, but in many cases, business owners find they are not targeting their marketing dollars to the specific services that help them earn the most money. For example, a marketing plan that allocates a majority of the dollars to sponsorships or advertising of a general nature will probably not have a good return on investment. Marketing plans that specifically target a service area, and support efforts in that area, will have a much better ratio of success.
• Look at your company's annual revenue, and determine what percentage of the revenue goes into your marketing budget. Marketing budgets average between 2.5-6%, depending on the industry.  If you are spending less than this, consider expanding your marketing budget. If your marketing budget is unrealistic, your marketing plan will fail.
• Examine and interview your most successful salespeople or rainmakers and analyze their activities. If they have had good results from a particular form of marketing, whether it is networking, e-mail marketing, direct mail, or through community involvement, consider encouraging other salespeople to do similar things.
• Throughout the year, TRACK your marketing plan. Make sure if you send a direct mail piece that you have a way of noting your response rates. If you practice e-mail marketing, keep an eye on how many new subscribers you have per year, and how many of them convert to clients.
• Most importantly, perform your Marketing Peel annually. This allows you to use year one as a benchmark, and you will gain a much better sense of what is working in your marketing plan as the years progress.

At the end of your marketing audit process, your company should have a clear picture of where you stand with your marketing dollars. For more information on the steps to determining your ROMI, feel free to contact us.