Tracking the success of a marketing campaign can be, hands down, the easiest portion of your initiative to neglect.  After the all the planning, strategy and execution, it’s a sigh of relief to have everything out the door and off your plate.  And, add in the day-to-day duties of your job, customers, phone calls, vendors and more customers, and, well, who has time to do tracking?

If you don’t, you should make time.

Following your initiative’s foot print is the best way to see where your clientele is coming from so you know where to send your message, or how to spend your advertising dollars.  From the most basic to the most advanced, here are a few ways to make tracking a part of your everyday business model and why this information is important to you.

No Such Thing as a Stupid Question

Asking all your new customers or clients, ‘How did you hear about us?’ should be mandatory, no questions asked.  I know it sounds silly, but you can easily integrate this into everyday business activities.  Make a script and a tally sheet for yourself and employees when answering the phones.  If the person calling is a first time customer, simply slip the question in when you are asking for their contact information and note the answer on your tally sheet under the appropriate choice.

Another way to add it in is to make it the required first step in your sales transaction or website questionnaire.  Since the answer is required, and your new, hot lead cannot go on to the next step without answering, you ensure that you get the tracking information you need on a regular basis.  And making it a part of your sales process creates an easy flow and transition, without any additional hassle.

Technology and Tracking

For those already tracking their marketing on a regular basis, kudos!  But, here are a couple more advanced ways you may not know about.

Some direct and shared mail companies may offer you the option to purchase a phone number tied directly to that specific marketing piece.  This phone number will only ring through on one line at your business, thus making your tracking fool-proof – the person calling on that specific line has the number from that specific mail piece.  Voila – instant tracking!

Another advanced tracking option is personal URL’s, or PURL’s.  PURL’s are personalized landing pages (like a mini web page), that are unique to each individual on the mailing list.  For example, if I were to receive a mailer with a PURL, mine might be ‘ENarvaez.DowElectronicsDeals.com’, but yours would include your information.  Once you get to the landing page, which is informational, and not an advanced website, there is typically a form to fill out and submit.  The best part is all this information is recorded for you to use – who logged in, what information they submitted, what time they logged in, how many times they visited the site and so on.

Whether you are just starting to get into the nitty gritty of tracking, or you are more advanced, tracking is something no business owner can afford to ignore.  This information leads you to your client base, and shows you what isn’t working for your business.  And, bottom line, if you aren’t seeing a good ROI from your marketing and advertising, its time to switch gears to get your customers in the door.