At a recent marketing event, the speaker said something offhandedly that resonated with me. He asked, “with every marketing message and every channel, is the juice worth the squeeze?”

Your customers are faced with hundreds, even thousands of messages in the form of texts, calls, ads, social media posts, etc. If you’re not standing out or struggling to get engagement from your marketing efforts, what can you do differently?

Test different email subject lines and calls to action, try different kinds of social media posts or consider paying to boost your posts. Make an effort to improve what you’re doing to connect with your target audience.

For some independent grocers, social media channels haven’t been worth the investment. For others, social has been a huge boost to their businesses. If it’s not working, try something new, then try again. Not seeing any improvement? Maybe the juice isn’t worth the squeeze and your audience would rather get texts or emails instead.

Your weekly emails with a link to your circular might be doing well, but maybe your email with a special coupon isn’t bringing anyone in. See what kind of subject lines work best, which offers do better. No improvement? Maybe email offers aren’t your audience’s cup of tea. Spend your time and money where the juice is worth the squeeze.

With some effort into finding out why your marketing messages are or aren’t working, you’ll probably find a way to improve your ROI. You try to squeeze the most out of every other facet of your business, why should marketing be any different?