Small-business question
How do I know whether my marketing is working?
By Rick Hesse ·
Short answer
The short answer
Start with business outcomes: qualified calls, booked work, new customers, repeat business, referrals, and revenue—not likes alone. Track how people found you and what happened next, then improve the weak point in the path.
Where this fits in a real small business
A campaign can create activity without creating progress. The point is to see whether the right people are moving from awareness to understanding, contact, purchase, and a relationship worth keeping.
One useful next step
Pick two outcomes that matter most right now. Ask every new customer how they found you, then look for patterns in the path between attention and real business.
The lesson behind this question
I Learned Business by Watching People
Different questions lead to the same deeper teaching: listen to the people who use, buy, and deliver the work before deciding what to build or sell.
Read the full lessonGo deeper
Explore the teaching behind this answer
These NTA resources explain the connected ideas without asking you to start over from the beginning.