Page 285 - Duct Tape Marketing

Duct Tape Marketing

free report or responding to a direct mail letter, your ratio for the
month would be 5 divided by 47, or 10.6 percent. I know this is a
fairly simplistic calculation, but the thing I like about a number like
this is that it gives you a very simple way to look at the effectiveness
of your marketing.

Almost everything you do with regard to marketing your small
business will impact this number. Now that you have this number,
make it your rallying cry. Make it a goal to improve this number
every single month. What this number should be is impossible for me
to suggest, as it will vary wildly depending upon your business and
your industry. The important thing is that you establish a benchmark
number and go to work on improving it.

Lead generation reports. Since the number of leads generated
in any given month is a very critical part of your marketing measure-
ment, I suggest that you create a way to view the number of leads you
are generating from every source possible. To do this most effectively,
of course, you will need to assign some form of tracking code to each
mailing, advertisement, or URL you are promoting.

Simply create a chart or spreadsheet with each possible lead
source, and tally the leads generated by each. Don’t forget to ask every
caller how he or she heard of you, as well. A major reason for doing
this level of tracking is to gather data on your most effective promo-
tions and mediums so that you can understand where to best allocate
your marketing dollars at all times.

You can’t improve what you don’t measure!
Lead conversion reports. As you begin to establish your new
marketing system, another very valuable tool is some form of tracking
smack in the middle of your lead conversion process. Some businesses
may relate this to a commonly used sales tool called a call report.
Use your lead conversion reports to track your sales calls, but
make certain that you link it back to your lead generation report. It’s
funny how often one ad or medium can generate a lot of leads, but

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