Analyze and Adjust (A.K.A. Rerouting Until You’ve Reached Your Destination)
We've made it to the final installment of our series on creating an effective strategic marketing plan. In our previous posts, we discussed setting marketing goals and defining strategies and tactics to achieve them. Now, it's time to evaluate, analyze, and adjust your tactics to support your strategies and overall goals. This is how you assess where you currently are in progress toward your goals, and reroute when needed.
Track Your Performance
In our last post, we emphasized the importance of establishing benchmarks at the beginning of your campaign. These form the base for our analysis, which will be built upon using industry and marketing platform benchmarks.
There are as many ways to track your performance against your benchmarks as there are tactics themselves, but there are four key considerations we’d like to highlight:
Embrace Google Analytics and its Ecosystem
While there are other analytics tools available, Google currently reigns supreme. If you have an existing Google Analytics account, make sure you have transitioned that to their latest version, GA4, as their old version (UA) will sunset in July 2023. Once you are set up with GA4, update your events and conversions in the new analytics platform, using Google Tag Manager to capture user actions that are important to your strategies.
Utilize the Tools Available to Track Ad Performance
Define what action you want ad viewers to take and track it. Google Ads has robust tools for tracking ads within their platform (with the help of Google Tag Manager). But conversion tracking is also available for other ad platforms, such as LinkedIn or Meta, by placing a pixel on your website or integrating with Google Tag Manager.
Use Trackable URLs Across Channels
Trackable URLs, created by using UTM codes, can help collect data on specific user interactions even outside the Google ecosystem. They're especially useful in tactics such as third party digital ads, social posts, and newsletters, by providing a clear view of how viewers engage with your ads or campaigns.
Maintain Consistent Measuring Tools
Whether it’s a paid analytics tool, Google Looker Studio, or even just a spreadsheet, create a consistent way to track your metrics so you are always comparing apples to apples. Document exactly how you are pulling the data so there is no confusion if and when this task is done by others.
Use the Data
While tracking your data is crucial, its value lies in how you apply it. Use the data you've collected to make tactical adjustments throughout the year and inform future planning. Starting each goal check-in with an analytics review is a great way to ensure that data is considered throughout the conversation.
As we wrap up this series on our approach to strategic marketing planning, we hope you take away that a thoughtful, goal-driven, and data-grounded approach to planning can help you make tangible progress in your organization. Good luck on your strategic marketing journey!
FAQs: Marketing Plan Analysis & Performance Tracking
1. How do I track if my marketing plan is working?
Start with the benchmarks you set at the campaign’s launch—those become your measurement baseline. Then compare actual results against those targets to spot wins and areas for adjustment.
2. Which tools should I use to track marketing performance?
GA4 captures user behavior, GTM manages and organizes your tracking tags, and Looker Studio turns raw data into easy-to-read dashboards. Together, they give you a unified, visual view of performance.
3. Why are benchmarks important in marketing plan analysis?
Without them, you’re guessing at success. Benchmarks define what “good” looks like so you can make objective decisions about whether to scale, adjust, or pause tactics.
4. How often should I review my marketing analytics?
At minimum, review monthly for active campaigns and quarterly for overall strategy. High-velocity channels like paid ads may need weekly check-ins.
5. What’s the first step when adjusting a marketing plan?
Start with analytics—not assumptions. Look for patterns in the data to identify what’s driving results and what’s underperforming before making tactical changes.
6. Can Looker Studio help non-analysts understand marketing results?
Yes—Looker Studio’s visual dashboards translate complex GA4 data into charts and summaries anyone on the team can understand. This makes collaboration and decision-making much faster.
7. How do I know if underperformance is a campaign problem or a benchmark issue?
Compare results against both your original benchmarks and industry averages. If both are off, you may need to reset expectations or refine your targeting and creative.
8. Should I change my benchmarks mid-campaign?
Only if your original assumptions were clearly unrealistic or the market shifted significantly. Benchmarks should guide your analysis, not constantly move to fit results.