HOW MUCH DO YOUR LEADS COST?

The first step is deciding what needs to be measured, and then to set up systems for measuring them. For example, if I spend ten thousand dollars for an ad or ads, how many leads will it generate? By leads I am referring to prospects who take initiative to contact the company.

To capture this number you may need to set up a toll free order number specifically designated for in-coming leads. Or you may use coupons that you later count when mailed in or re

There may be leagues where it doesn’t matter whether anyone is keeping score, but not the big leagues. Champions of the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup, the Masters can only be determined when there is someone keeping score.

In hockey, keeping score means counting the number of times the puck gets into the net. In golf, keeping score means counting the number of strokes one takes over a defined course.

Keeping score means identifying objectives and giving points to those who achieve them. Why is it that so many businesses do not, or will not, keep score when it comes to spending money on advertising? In a recent edition of Advertising Age a survey indicated that nearly 70% of all businesses do not measure the results of their advertising efforts. Could this be a contributing factor in why so many fledgling businesses fail in their first five years?

MEASUREMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

One reason companies may not measure the return on investment for their ad dollars is simply that they do not believe it is possible. Measurement is a must if there is ever to be accountability or management of an advertising and marketing program. As they say, you can’t manage what you don’t measure.

Granted, it’s not always easy to measure results from many promotional activities. That doesn’t mean we are exempt from making the effort. Choosing not to measure is the same as playing cards in a pitch black room with the lights out. Let there be light!

While it may be difficult to measure the results of a specific press release, for example, you can to some degree measure how many magazines, radio stations and newspapers pick up that release. You then make a mental note and begin building a benchmark. From a documented sequence of experiences you can begin to learn what works and what doesn’t when it comes to getting publicity.

HOW MUCH DO YOUR LEADS COST?

The first step is deciding what needs to be measured, and then to set up systems for measuring them. For example, if I spend ten thousand dollars for an ad or ads, how many leads will it generate? By leads I am referring to prospects who take initiative to contact the company.

To capture this number you may need to set up a toll free order number specifically designated for in-coming leads. Or you may use coupons that you later count when mailed in or red

Keeping score means identifying objectives and giving points to those who achieve them. Why is it that so many businesses do not, or will not, keep score when it comes to spending money on advertising? In a recent edition of Advertising Age a survey indicated that nearly 70% of all businesses do not measure the results of their advertising efforts. Could this be a contributing factor in why so many fledgling businesses fail in their first five years?

MEASUREMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

One reason companies may not measure the return on investment for their ad dollars is simply that they do not believe it is possible. Measurement is a must if there is ever to be accountability or management of an advertising and marketing program. As they say, you can’t manage what you don’t measure.

Granted, it’s not always easy to measure results from many promotional activities. That doesn’t mean we are exempt from making the effort. Choosing not to measure is the same as playing cards in a pitch black room with the lights out. Let there be light!

While it may be difficult to measure the results of a specific press release, for example, you can to some degree measure how many magazines, radio stations and newspapers pick up that release. You then make a mental note and begin building a benchmark. From a documented sequence of experiences you can begin to learn what works and what doesn’t when it comes to getting publicity.

HOW MUCH DO YOUR LEADS COST?

The first step is deciding what needs to be measured, and then to set up systems for measuring them. For example, if I spend ten thousand dollars for an ad or ads, how many leads will it generate? By leads I am referring to prospects who take initiative to contact the company.

To capture this number you may need to set up a toll free order number specifically designated for in-coming leads. Or you may use coupons that you later count when mailed in or re

MEASUREMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

One reason companies may not measure the return on investment for their ad dollars is simply that they do not believe it is possible. Measurement is a must if there is ever to be accountability or management of an advertising and marketing program. As they say, you can’t manage what you don’t measure.

Granted, it’s not always easy to measure results from many promotional activities. That doesn’t mean we are exempt from making the effort. Choosing not to measure is the same as playing cards in a pitch black room with the lights out. Let there be light!

While it may be difficult to measure the results of a specific press release, for example, you can to some degree measure how many magazines, radio stations and newspapers pick up that release. You then make a mental note and begin building a benchmark. From a documented sequence of experiences you can begin to learn what works and what doesn’t when it comes to getting publicity.

HOW MUCH DO YOUR LEADS COST?

The first step is deciding what needs to be measured, and then to set up systems for measuring them. For example, if I spend ten thousand dollars for an ad or ads, how many leads will it generate? By leads I am referring to prospects who take initiative to contact the company.

To capture this number you may need to set up a toll free order number specifically designated for in-coming leads. Or you may use coupons that you later count when mailed in or re

While it may be difficult to measure the results of a specific press release, for example, you can to some degree measure how many magazines, radio stations and newspapers pick up that release. You then make a mental note and begin building a benchmark. From a documented sequence of experiences you can begin to learn what works and what doesn’t when it comes to getting publicity.

HOW MUCH DO YOUR LEADS COST?

The first step is deciding what needs to be measured, and then to set up systems for measuring them. For example, if I spend ten thousand dollars for an ad or ads, how many leads will it generate? By leads I am referring to prospects who take initiative to contact the company.

To capture this number you may need to set up a toll free order number specifically designated for in-coming leads. Or you may use coupons that you later count when mailed in or re

HOW MUCH DO YOUR LEADS COST?

The first step is deciding what needs to be measured, and then to set up systems for measuring them. For example, if I spend ten thousand dollars for an ad or ads, how many leads will it generate? By leads I am referring to prospects who take initiative to contact the company.

To capture this number you may need to set up a toll free order number specifically designated for in-coming leads. Or you may use coupons that you later count when mailed in or redeemed. If doing direct mail, you may use a postage paid card or return envelope. Internet marketers have created all manner of cybersystems for tracking responses to e-mail campaigns, banner ads and the like. Whatever the medium, the common denominator is the ability to measure response.

I haven’t always thought this way. My first experiences in advertising were haphazard and intuitive. It wasn’t until I read David Ogilvy in 1986 that I learned that there’s a better way. Ogilvy in turn, tips his hat to Claude Hopkins, a revolutionary ad copywriter and pioneer who set down his principles of advertising in a volume called “Scientific Advertising.”

In the fifty years since Hopkins, studies have been made of nearly every variable in advertising. For example, it has been determined that five times as many people read a headline as the body copy of an ad. Does your headline, therefore, make a promise? Does it entice readers to follow through? Or is it only clever and meaningless? Here’s another example. An ad in reverse type, especially fine print, will be read by fewer people than normal black on white. It may look cool from a design perspective, but is your objective to look cool or to communicate a message?

Analysis has shown which are the most powerful words to use in headlines, the most persuasive phrases and whether color is valuable or a waste. But ultimately, until you begin measuring for yourself you will never be certain what works and what doesn’t.

While doing a direct mail campaign for The Chromaline Corporation in the late 80’s I designed a three panel self mailer with a tear off bounceback card on it. We printed three versions of the mailer, each version identical except the offer. One mailer offered two for the price of one, another ten dollars off, and the third buy one get one free. Before mailing it I walked around the office and took votes on which version would bring the most response. To my surprise, the version with the least votes brought t