Do you know where your customers are coming from? For small business owners, asking customers where they found out about their business is one way to evaluate and refocus marketing efforts. But if that’s all you’re doing, more sophisticated tools can help you achieve small business marketing success. And believe it or not, these tools are less expensive and more accessible than you might realize.

If you haven’t updated your marketing plans to include newly accessible campaign analytics, it may be time to refresh yourself on what’s available to small businesses.

Search engine marketing: With so many people now asking Google the minute a question pops into their heads, it only makes sense that businesses have begun aligning marketing efforts with popular search terms related to their business. Search engine marketing (SEM) allows businesses to target the keywords potential customers are likely to enter into a search engine. SEM campaigns allow business owners to target specific locations, and track how many people are viewing their ads.

Website metrics: Websites have become a great tool for small businesses to provide customers with information about their products and services. What’s less obvious is that they’re also a great tool to measure your customers’ interest in certain aspects of your business. Website metrics allow you to see which pages your customers are looking at and how long they are staying on your site.

Email marketing and social media: Email marketing and social media are easy and cheap methods to see firsthand what interests your customers. Open an online dialogue with your customers by starting a monthly email newsletter, which can help quickly learn the type of things they want you to offer and which promotions generate the most interest.

If these types of marketing methods and evaluation tools still seem foreign to you, don’t worry. Companies such as Deluxe offer comprehensive consulting packages that can help you use these types of tools to optimize your marketing efforts. If you decide to hire a firm to help optimize your marketing efforts, don’t be afraid to ask questions and have them explain exactly how their services work.

Using marketing optimization tools can help you make sure you are getting the most out of your marketing budget. For small business owners who can’t afford to spend millions on marketing, these types of tools are leveling the playing field.