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2.19.08 |
Ad Response Tracking So you spent a thousand dollars on a full page color ad in a local magazine. The salesman said it would be seen by just the people you're looking for. He guaranteed thousands of people would see it on a daily basis. He said your phone would be ringing off the hook. Now you run a second ad in another publication. You seem to be getting some new clients but how can you be sure which ad is bringing them in? Can you really tell what your return is on these investments? The answer is an unequivocal YES - there are several ways from the inexpensive to the fully automated (and costly). As I've said before, you are going to make mistakes in marketing. The key is not to make them twice. Thanks to technology, you can have the answers you need. First, the inexpensive. Let's say you have 2 ads running. Let's also assume you have a phone system with up to 4 lines. Each one of those lines is a roll over line with it's own number or 800 numbers. One way to measure is to put a different phone number on each of your ads - one of your roll over lines. Then you check on your phone records for direct dials to that line. But be patient. One week is not enough to see real results. Some studies show that people need to see your ad up to 20 times before responding to it. Another inexpensive way is to buy a few clever URL's (www.NoMoreClogs.com). Short and clever are best. At a cost of $8 a year, you can afford to experiment. Then you simply build a landing page that resides with your normal website and point the URL to it. Add Google Analytics (for free) and point your different ads to different URL's. They can all be connected to your website, you need not have a separate hosting account for each and you can put all of your contact information as well as special offers and calls to action. At the end of the month, you'll be able to see just how much direct traffic you received. If your budget will allow, there are service providers out there that for around $300 a month, will set you up with phone numbers for each ad, route calls through their server, tell you what the result of the call was (connected, busy, abandoned or no answer) and even tell you who it was that called so you can call them back. They can do some truly amazing things. They can tell you the number of leads, average call duration, give you a cost per lead and assign a percentage based on overall advertising. Some will record the calls and even offer training for your staff. And this is just the tip of the iceberg! Technology exists now to let you know exactly where your best dollars are spent. You will be able to do the math quarterly and make educated choices as to where to keep spending your money and, more importantly, where to stop spending it. Now get out there and look good. Chris Motley ©2007 Motley Creations. Use by permission only. ........................................................................................................................................................................ Media Buying Service: Same Cost - More Support I know I need to advertise, where do I advertise? Ever had that thought? If you’re going to do it yourself, make sure you’re putting your hard earned money in the right place. Do your homework. You can do an in-store survey with your customers; you can do a phone survey, an online survey, or a survey by mail. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Ask the questions that will help you decide where to put your money. What do your customers read, watch and listen to? Why do they do business with you? Why did they shop with you, then purchase from your competitor? Then tailor your creative message to your customer’s wants and needs. Now you know your spending your money on the right creative, and in the right place. Maybe you’ve already done your homework. Your message is ready. How do you get ON the radio or TV and how much do you spend? What stations or programs should you buy? You can call a media buying service, an agency or call the stations directly. A media buying service has expertise in working with the media – all media. So they can bring a wide range of knowledge about results, costs, effectiveness and efficiencies to the conversation. It’s their job to create the most efficient media schedule for you. They often work on a commission basis, which the broadcast stations allow. So you’ll be spending the same amount of money whether you do it yourself, or go through an agency or media buying service. Make sure you work with one that owns Nielsen and Arbitron ratings data. This is what the stations use to tell you their #1 for your target audience. And a reputable media service will be able to confirm that. It’s also what allows them to negotiate the best price for you with the station. If you contact an agency, make sure they have an experienced media-buying department, or source. It’s quite common for an agency to specialize in creative, and partner with a media buying service. If you contact a station directly, a sales person will come to your business to meet with you. They’ll put a schedule together for their station – and possibly their sister stations (stations that are owned by their corporation). It is unlikely that you will get unbiased information on all the stations that may be right for you. (You don’t often see a Nike sales person pitching the virtues of Addidas). Broadcast sales people prefer to work directly with a client, as they make a higher commission. (When the agency is not involved to earn a commission, the station and the salesperson keep it. You still pay the same price.) Once you’ve run a schedule, it’s amazing how you now
find you’re spending your whole day fielding calls from media
sales reps, from stations you never considered. How is it that each
and every station in town can be #1? Jana Cook ........................................................................................................................................................................ |
