Taking time to review your online business’s performance over the past year is crucial for identifying what’s working, what’s not, and how to improve going forward. Here are some tips for conducting a productive yearly review:
Analyze Key Metrics and Financials
Gather all your vital statistics for the year – website traffic, sales, revenue, profits/losses, etc. Pull reports from your ecommerce platform, payment processor, affiliate networks, and other sources. Look at monthly and quarterly trends in addition to yearly totals. Calculate important metrics like conversion rate, repeat customer rate, average order value, customer lifetime value, and cost per acquisition. Review Google Analytics data on traffic sources, top landing pages, geo distribution, etc. Doing a thorough quantitative analysis will reveal progress and problem areas.
Assess Achievement of Goals
Look back at the key business, financial, and marketing goals you set for your online business last year. Did you hit revenue targets or fall short? Did you reduce churn by your desired amount? Were you able to launch a new product line or expand internationally as planned? Review your accomplishments and areas that fell short. This honest assessment will help with setting realistic, data-driven goals for the next year.
Review Marketing Performance
Analyze each of your marketing channels – PPC, SEO, email, social media, content marketing, etc. Look at both traffic and conversions. Which initiatives drove the most results? What was your cost per conversion for each channel? Any underperforming campaigns or areas of overspend? Marketing mix optimization should be a key part of your yearly review, so you know where to allocate budgets going forward.
Survey Customers
Send out online surveys and polls to customers asking what they liked about your business and what needs improvement. Look at ratings, reviews and feedback from platforms like Trustpilot and social media. This qualitative data directly from customers can provide powerful insights to improve their experience. Offer survey respondents a small incentive like a discount code to boost participation.
Look at Competitor Growth
Research how your competitors have evolved over the past year. Note new products, features, and marketing messages on their sites. See what refinements can be made to stay competitive.
Re-evaluate Operations
Take a deep dive into your internal operations and workflows. Look for inefficiencies creating waste or extra costs. Are there bottlenecks or redundancies? Assess needs for updated software, tools, or systems. Review hosting providers, HR needs, CRM/CMS, accounting systems. Operational optimization should be an output of your yearly review.
The yearly review provides an opportunity to step back and assess what’s working well and what enhancements are needed across all aspects of your online business. Being strategic about capitalizing on strengths and addressing weaknesses will help maximize growth in the coming year.