A marketing campaign can generate views, likes and website visits without producing meaningful business results. While visibility is valuable, successful marketing should ultimately encourage the right people to inquire, subscribe, visit, purchase or return. The challenge is determining which activities genuinely move customers closer to a decision and which simply create impressive-looking numbers.

Think about the marketing channels you have tried, such as social media, email, search engines, advertising, networking, events or referrals. Which one produced the most valuable customer response, and how did you measure its success? Sharing both successful and disappointing experiences can help other entrepreneurs invest their time and money more wisely.

Join the conversation: Which marketing strategy has brought your business the best customers, and which popular strategy produced attention but very few results?