Would you invest in a stock that wasn't able to tell you what the return on your investment was across the last "X" quarters?
Hopefully not.
The same principle should apply to the way you manage your advertising campaigns.
You run the same radio spots, during the same time period, on three different local stations. How do you know which station yielded the higher-performing results?
You buy two lists from two different sales lead generators for an upcoming email campaign. Which generator's prospects yielded the higher response rate?
If you can't answer those questions, we have a problem.
So before you pull the trigger on your next media buy, consider these 3 rules:
Hopefully not.
The same principle should apply to the way you manage your advertising campaigns.
You run the same radio spots, during the same time period, on three different local stations. How do you know which station yielded the higher-performing results?
You buy two lists from two different sales lead generators for an upcoming email campaign. Which generator's prospects yielded the higher response rate?
If you can't answer those questions, we have a problem.
So before you pull the trigger on your next media buy, consider these 3 rules:
- Use Unique Address & Numbers. You'll want to establish a few toll-free phone numbers as well as some unique URL addresses for this type of tracking. For instance, instead of placing your typical phone number (1-800-WIDGETS) in an advertisement, use a different unique phone number (i.e., 1-800-MYWIDGET, 1-800-iWIDGET). Doing so will indicate how many tangible leads resulted from that one advertisement. The same can be done with web addresses. Try using a different, unique URL to determine how many new visitor hits you receive during your ad campaign.
- Implement Indicator Codes. The artwork for your direct mail piece is exactly the same, except for that series of small digits in a bottom corner of your response mechanism. When your campaign results are generated, these codes will indicate the productive sources of your leads.
- Track Redirects. If your ad campaigns are pointing to an online landing page, opt to implement a variety of redirects that all point to the same landing page. Tracking each of the redirect URLs will shed some light on which sources are driving the most traffic.
If you're unable to track your advertising money (where it's going, how it's performing, return on investment, etc.), you shouldn't be advertising at all.
Advertising simply for the sake of using your advertising budget is, unfortunately, a mistake.