is your marketing accountable?

Recruitment targets don’t move on their own. But when budgets are tight, every campaign has to prove its worth. Here are the three most common reasons marketing doesn’t deliver, and what to do about each.

1. it runs on its own

A single email or a few social posts rarely change much. Campaigns work when channels support each other. For Bangor University, digital and printed press, mobile advans, social media and mobile advertising all worked together to reach nurses in one of the most sparsely populated parts of England and Wales.

2. it isn’t sustained

People need time to go from not knowing you, to being interested, to taking action. That doesn’t happen in a month. Plan for a campaign, not a one-off.

3. the message isn’t clear

If people can’t see why you’re the right choice, they won’t act. For Birmingham Newman University, one theme ran across every channel: “You don’t have to go far to get far”.

make it accountable

Tracking is what turns marketing from a cost into an investment. Use tracking links for every ad, QR codes on print and analytics on your landing pages, then review and adjust as you go. Newman’s campaign was refined throughout, which kept the average cost per click at £2.41, significantly lower than similar Newman campaigns. Bangor’s tracking showed which media worked, and gave the evidence for a longer-term campaign.

When you can see what’s working, you can do more of it, and stop paying for what isn’t.