I have had numerous meetings lately with prospective clients that have wanted to change their marketing strategies. Some want to retool their web site to make it more competitive. Some want to put together campaigns that work and some still are looking for the magic bullet. I listen to their concerns and, of course, we talk about addressing their main issues but it seems that they all have one thing in common: They have no real idea how their current marketing purchases are performing because they are not tracking them properly.
This is the simplest, most inexpensive element of a marketing program and I am shocked at how many people do not track their results. And, I mean with tracking technologies, not by rigorous screening at the front desk or on some pre-consultation paperwork. Those methods invite human error when that is not necessary. A good question to ask a person is “Where do you remember seeing us?” That will give you a good idea of what elements of your marketing campaigns are most memorable which is good information. However, if you want REAL results, you have to use technologies.
I am talking about the kind of analytics you get with Google or a paid search campaign with a major company like ReachLocal. I am also talking about the easiest and least expensive method of measuring production... tracking telephone numbers. Tracking phone numbers are unique numbers tied to tracking technology that allow you to measure all the details of a phone calls coming from a specific media placement. You get call volume, length of call, answered/not answered/ Caller ID and you can record the calls. Spending 15-20 minutes every few weeks reviewing these statistics is the key to understanding what is really going on in your campaigns... all the way to how the phone is being answered.
Everybody talks about ROI and rightly so. If you are doing it right, ROI is easy to figure: compare this year to last year. The sum total of what you did versus what you did the year before is the return you made on your overall effort in time and expense. That is how to measure ROI because it is all connected. The key to measuring performance and response is tracking technologies that tell you how each line item is performing. A well-managed plan has metrics available for all parts of the plan, benchmarks established for performance on each part of the plan and a marketing supervisor to analyze the results and react as needed. And, once this is in place, it is only a matter of moving the benchmarks up to move the needle into the black.
But none of this works without tracking technologies like tracking numbers. Our tracking numbers are $480/year. That’s $40/month! This is by far the least expensive and most important marketing tool we offer. I strongly suggest using this tool on all elements of your marketing plan. Reports are delivered to your email once per month but you can log onto a web site to see real time statistics any time. If you want to start marketing with the clarity of precise measurement, please let me know at donald@dogstarmedia.com. You can have your tracking number in a matter of days.
