In my last blog we discussed four recommendations for a successful marketing plan. The fourth point, and perhaps the most important, was “determine how success will be measured.” In other words, what is your return on investment?
Measuring your ROI is sometimes easier said than done. With so much data at your disposal in digital advertising, what metrics do you need to be tracking? How do you measure if your marketing campaign was truly a success? That is the topic in today’s marketing blog: Five ways you can effectively measure your return on investment.
1) Set Clear Marketing Goals
The first step in tracking your marketing ROI is to set the objectives for your campaign. Will it be a branding campaign or a lead generation effort? A new product launch or trade show support? Maybe a push to drive traffic to your website and social media pages? This is important to discuss up-front with your media partner and work together to create a plan that will best achieve your goals. Different goals will have different advertising methods to achieve success.
2) Determine How You Will Measure Success
Success can mean many different things when it comes to marketing. If you are selling a high-dollar manufacturing machine gaining just two solid sales leads may be well worth the investment. However, if you are running a branding campaign two clicks isn’t going to do the trick. It is important to determine what you consider to be the key measurables of your campaign. Is it leads? Impressions? Clicks to your website? What does “success” equal to you and your company?
3) Track Everything (or Make Sure Someone is Tracking it for You)
These days prospects follow-up on advertisements in many different ways. The truth is most people just don’t pick up the phone and call your 800-number anymore. At least not before visiting your website, social media pages and Googling your company name. At Wood Floor Business we’ve worked hard to install some detailed data capabilities. We can track basic stats like impressions, clicks and email open rates or even help you with some more advanced targeting efforts. Our advanced database can help you target prospects based on everything from job title or geographic location all the way down to behavioral factors like articles read on our website or emails opened. The best part? We track all of this for you and deliver it in an easy-to-digest report.
4) Dig Deeper
It’s important to remember that not all stats are created equal. Before you judge the success of your campaign based on raw numbers alone, take a deeper dive into what they mean. Your e-mail campaign may have had a lower unique open rate than you were hoping for. However, were there key prospects that opened the email several times? Maybe even a few that forwarded it on? On the contrary, your Custom E-Mail may have been opened by 15,000 people but none of them were qualified decision makers. Take a step back and look at what the numbers really mean. Not sure what to look for? Just ask us. That’s what I’m here for.
5) Remember the Power of One
What does one new customer mean to you over the course of their lifetime? Gaining a loyal customer has double the value – their purchasing power but arguably even more valuable, their recommendations to others. According to Nielsen, 77 percent of consumers said advice of family and friends is the most persuasive when looking for information about products. What does one new customer mean to you?
Of course every advertising campaign is going to be unique. If you’re considering advertising with Wood Floor Business, I encourage you to reach out and discuss your goals and objectives. We’ll create a campaign that fits your needs and budget. Then we can put these ROI tracking tips into action together.