How to Improve Marketing Efficiently – Fast

Posted on June 16, 2025 in Blog

Marketers, whether part of a larger inbound team or the sole team member, often feel pressure to do more with less. Improving marketing efficiency requires a top-down approach to the process behind every type of marketing, quantifying effort and maximizing the value of every meeting, every ad group, and every piece of content. There is always room to improve, but it can be challenging to identify new ways of working without the benefit of a fresh perspective.

While no true “quick fix” works for everyone, we’ve put together a few tips to help you increase marketing efficiency through accurate measurement and honest assessment.

What Is Marketing Efficiency?

Marketing efficiency is the process of improving operations and performance to maximize results with the least amount of investment. It is an ongoing effort to lower costs, streamline processes, and improve campaigns to generate results with limited expenditure.

There are several useful marketing efficiency metrics, including return on investment (ROI) and the most comprehensive measure, the marketing efficiency ratio.

Marketing efficiency ratio (MER) is a high-level metric used to evaluate your aggregated efficiency. The marketing efficiency calculation divides your total sales revenue by total marketing spend.

Total sales revenue / total marketing spend = MER

Companies that rely on inside and outside sales representatives often include sales expenses and report on a combined sales and marketing efficiency ratio, which is typically lower than evaluating marketing expenses alone.

So, if Hot Air Guitars brought in $1.5 million last year and spent $250,000 to do it, their marketing efficiency ratio would be 6.

What Is a Good Marketing Efficiency Ratio?

A MER of 3 or higher is considered good – that’s $3 in revenue for every $1 spent on marketing. Of course, some industries have higher or lower MER targets, and your organization’s goals may change based on the size and age of your company.

Start-ups and growth-stage companies may aim to break even (or accept losing money) as they try to gain market share.
Small businesses tend to be inflexible when it comes to MER; they can’t invest capital in a MER of 2, which may not cover the costs of production or operational overhead.
Large companies can absorb low MER in certain product categories if they have higher returns in other business segments.

Gain a fresh perspective on your marketing efficiency with an in-depth marketing operations audit from Oneupweb.

Marketing Efficiency vs. Effectiveness

While often used interchangeably, marketing efficiency and marketing effectiveness are unique concepts. We like to think of them in terms of earning marketing grades, with a focus on passing or failing.

Marketing efficiency evaluates how well you utilize resources to maximize results. You can do exceptionally well by lowering costs while holding results steady (which might earn you a B), or spend too much only to increase results a bit (which is probably a C, and a good time to refresh your LinkedIn profile).
Marketing effectiveness is less refined and views results as yes or no, pass or fail. Did revenue increase? Did we gain market share? Did we acquire high-quality customers? If the answers to these are all yes, then effectiveness has improved, even if you spent twice as much on marginal improvement.

5 Ways to Improve Digital Marketing Efficiency

The larger the company, the harder it is to maintain efficient marketing plans. The sheer number of meetings, stakeholders, and people asking questions and offering ideas makes it hard to get things done. Marketing teams can offset the deluge of input (and criticism) by creating clear and concise ways of working that both invite outside contributions and prevent operational bloat.

1. Build a Long-Term Strategy on Solid Ground – With Data

Looking at your past is the best way to prepare for your future. Invest time in historical marketing efforts, including costs (in terms of time, resources, and dollars) and their returns. If you don’t have the time or would benefit from a neutral third-party tackling the project, consider a marketing audit. Before you pitch an increased budget or cut out an underperforming marketing channel, bring the data to support your recommendations.

Remember, efficient digital marketing isn’t about doing everything; it’s about doing the right things in the best way.

Start by assessing your target audience. Who are they? How old are they? What kind of income do they have? Questions like this will help you establish who you are trying to reach, making it easier to connect with them.
Consider building a monthly report to track results and analyze data visually.
Evaluate existing marketing efforts and assets. What content was engaging to your audience? Did your blogs connect in the way you wanted them to?
Ask challenging questions, too: What didn’t work? Are there channels you should cut out? Was poor performance due to your competitors, your audience, your strategy, or your content?

2. Use Relevant Data

Historical data is excellent for companies that have been trying for a while, but it’s okay if you don’t have it. Newer companies use market research to see what their competitors are doing. Don’t guess what prospects in your sector are after; evaluate industry competitors to discover how they turn prospects into customers. For example, surveys and competitive analyses help you identify what prospects care about most when making a purchasing decision.

No matter how far ahead you’re looking, NEVER carve your plan into stone. The most efficient marketing plans will react to changes in the market. For more planning tips, read our list of frequently asked questions about annual planning.

3. Improve Internal Communication in Every Possible Way

When you stop and think, marketing is communication. If your internal communication is inefficient, you can probably predict what will happen to your marketing efforts. Improving internal communication doesn’t mean more email or more meetings. Instead, think of ways to avoid redundancies, increase message visibility, and prevent rework wherever possible.

The best communication is visible. When everyone can see and track communication, there is accountability; people can inject ideas, and there is less chance that anyone will be “out of the loop.”
Don’t let meetings unfold – plan them. Send out agendas and set topics. If people can prepare for the meeting before showing up, you can keep the discussion focused.
Document processes and hold people accountable for following them. While writing down specific workflows, you may discover that you can eliminate steps and save time.
If you struggle to connect with team members, these tips can get colleagues to read your emails.
If you work with a marketing agency and other partners, make sure they provide reporting (e.g., monthly) and explain how the strategy aligns with the numbers.
Don’t forget to ask your customers for feedback, whether in person, via email follow-up, or through a survey from an unbiased third party. This communication will make your existing customers feel valued and provide insights for snagging more business.

4. Create Content to Address the Entire Sales Funnel

If your marketing team is short on time, you likely have several bottom-of-funnel campaigns underway and are looking to generate leads quickly. But how much time have you spent on top-of-funnel marketing efforts? Creating content that appeals to customers during the research phase can increase brand awareness and ultimately lead to higher total conversions over time. This is especially important for businesses that experience seasonal demand fluctuation.

When you connect with people early in the customer journey (the awareness stage) and introduce your product or service, along with a trustworthy brand, they’re likely to think of you first when they need something. Consistent and quality content marketing is an efficient way to address every stage of the funnel.

5. Work with an Efficiency Marketing Agency

Also known as a performance marketing agency, a truly data-driven marketing agency will improve operational efficiency – and yes, that’s kind of our thing. We offer clear reporting, sound strategy, and open communication to deliver results. The goal is to focus on specific goals over pre-determined periods, so your marketing efforts are always tied to results, not gut feelings and vibes.

The Ultimate Marketing Efficiency? Let Us Handle It!

You can enhance marketing efficiency through careful planning to maximize the effectiveness of your resources. At Oneupweb, we provide a full stack of digital marketing services to offer our clients data-driven, creative solutions to meet real-world challenges in any vertical. Hand us your marketing to-do list; reach out online or call (231) 922-9977 to get started.