Think in terms of outcomes

When you build your next Web site, or write your next blog post, or craft your next email campaign to customers or prospects, answer three questions:

1) Who is the primary intended audience
2) What is my primary message to them
3) What is my expected outcome

Most marketers do the first two, but don’t always think through the third. And although the first two are required to make the third work, the outcome of your activity is by far the most important.

In fact, many successful marketers work backwards. If your expected outcome is to generate qualified leads for your sales team, for example, that will help decide who you choose as an audience and what you might say to them.

But the outcome is rarely just about generating leads, or traffic, or visits. When you think outcome, think revenue. What is the revenue-based outcome of what you’re trying to accomplish, and how does every facet of your execution gear towards that outcome?