In a quiet month, there is time to look at the marketing reports properly. In December there is not. The team is busy, the owner is busy, and the reports pile up unread until January, when it is too late to change anything about the season they describe.
The answer is not to read the full reports anyway. It is to decide now, while there is time to think, which few numbers actually tell you whether the season is going well, and to check only those, once a week, until it is over.
Why three
Three is enough to cover the main things that can go wrong and few enough to check in five minutes. Ten numbers turn into a report again, and a report is what gets skipped. If a number would not change what you do when it moves, leave it out.
A good set for most local businesses
- Inquiries per week. Calls, form submissions, messages and bookings, added together. This tells you whether people are finding you and getting in touch.
- How many of those became customers. Booked jobs, sales or appointments from the week's inquiries. This tells you whether the inquiries are the right ones, and whether they are being followed up.
- One number for your biggest holiday push. If most of your seasonal effort is on one thing, such as a promotion, a landing page or a gift card offer, track the result of that one thing.
Your three may be different. A restaurant might watch covers or bookings, a retailer might watch store visits or gift card sales. What matters is that each one is tied to money coming in, not to attention. Followers, impressions and page views can all rise in a season that is going badly.
If a number wouldn't change what you do when it moves, it doesn't belong on the list.
Set a comparison before you start
A number on its own does not tell you much. Thirty inquiries in a week could be good or bad, depending on what is normal for you. Before the season starts, write down what each number looked like for the same weeks last year, or for a typical week this autumn. Use last year's holiday numbers to plan this one explains how to find those figures if you have not pulled them already.
Then each week, compare. If a number is well below where it should be, that is the signal to look more closely, while there are still weeks of the season left to act.
Make checking them easy
Put the three numbers somewhere you can see them in one place, whether that is a dashboard, a shared spreadsheet or a weekly message from whoever looks after your marketing. Pick a day and a time to check, such as Monday morning, and keep it short. The dashboard test is a good check on whether your setup is simple enough: if you cannot explain your results in 30 seconds, it has too much in it.
With Vizible, your Chief Marketing Officer works with you on what to measure and reports on it in plain terms, so you know where the season stands without reading every report. A free growth proposal shows how that would work for your business.
Frequently asked questions
- What should a small business track during the holidays?
- A few numbers tied to revenue: inquiries per week, how many became customers, and the result of your main holiday promotion. Avoid numbers like followers or impressions that can rise while sales fall.
- Why track only three numbers?
- Three numbers can be checked in five minutes, even in a busy week. A longer list turns into a report, and reports tend to go unread during the busiest season.
- How do I know if a number is good or bad?
- Compare it with the same weeks last year, or with a typical week this autumn. Write those comparison figures down before the season starts.
- How often should I check these numbers?
- Once a week, on a set day. That is often enough to spot a problem with weeks of the season left to fix it.