Measuring your marketing

Verification. When your marketing has generated enough interest for someone to call, text, email or visit your offices or store, it’s the perfect time to ask: ‘how did you hear about us?’ It’s a good way to start a conversation too. 

 

The simplest way to capture the information in person is to create an easy checklist of your marketing activity from social media posts to leaflets delivered directly through the door. Leave room to record what caught their attention and you’ll have useful feedback to improve your marketing in the future. You could also add a pop-up question on your website to say: ‘Thank you for visiting – what brings you here?’ and include some simple tick boxes. 

 

Dedicated contacts. When you run any type of campaign a good way to test its effectiveness is with a unique landing page on your website. You can use a special telephone number, or a contact name that relates only to that activity. You'll know anyone who visits is responding to that specific marketing campaign. 

 

Keep your landing page address short and easy to remember like www…./christmas-offer and use analytics to keep track of responses. If you’re using a special phone number or name for your campaign make sure your team knows all about it in advance and can collect helpful information. 

 

Easy responses. Quick response (QR) codes work well in printed marketing as well as online and even in videos. There are plenty of easy online tools to create QR codes very cheaply or for free. You can add them to your printed advertising campaign to take your customers directly to a dedicated landing page or enquiry form. 

 

Special offers. You can test the effectiveness of your marketing activities with different offers. Uptake will tell you which approach works best for you. Even for your seasonal sales you can offer extra discounts for specific products via different marketing activities. It’s easy to see which is most frequently claimed. 

 

Printed marketing materials are ideal for this approach. You can simply ask customers bring a voucher to your store or to use a printed code online.You can hand them out at exhibitions or include them in letters or invoices sent to existing customers. 

 

Repeat sales. Discounts and special offers for a first purchase are a very effective way to attract new customers. You can keep track of how many further purchases they make with a loyalty card. If they’re buying online you can capture their purchases in your customer relationship management system. 

 

If you see an increase in enquiries but not additional sales following a campaign then your marketing is probably successful. However, something about your website or callers and visitors to your store isn’t helping customers to make their purchase. It’s an opportunity to improve.