When it comes to marketing, it's easy to focus on activity. Just create a list of tasks and check them off as you complete them:

• Write five blog posts ✔
• Send an e-newsletter ✔
• Post status updates on Facebook and LinkedIn ✔
• Schedule ads ✔
• Create a landing page ✔
• Send postcards ✔
• Make phone calls ✔

As you check things off your list, you feel good about all you have accomplished. But when you focus exclusively on the activities of marketing, you're missing half the equation.

It doesn't really matter how much marketing you do if you're not getting results. Whether you are doing your own marketing or you have hired a company to do these tasks for you, don't settle for a list of activities. You need to hold your marketing accountable for results. You need to focus on the productivity of your marketing, and that's harder to do.

Productivity measures might include:

• Traffic or Interest: Did the actions create engagement on social media or drive traffic to your website or your storefront?
• Leads:Did people fill out a form, download information, or call for an appointment?
• Conversion: Did any of those people who came by or called become customers?

If you don't know the answers to these questions, stop wasting money on marketing. Put systems in place monitor web data and actual inquiries. Ask people how they heard about you or why the called. Study your closing rate. Once you have the numbers you will know have a better idea of what is working and where you need to be spending more time.

• Don't look at the numbers individually, because they work together. If your campaigns are driving lots of traffic but visitors rarely stay long or take the next step, look at both what you are offering in the campaign and the user experience when a visitor arrives.
• Lots of fans on Facebook may make you feel good, but if they don't engage with your content you might be offering the wrong thing, or you might not have great fans after all.

The bottom line: Anyone can look busy. As a business owner, you need to be sure that when you and your team spend time, it isn't just activity, but productive activity.

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