Six Indispensible Measuring Tools for Marketers

Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.

John Wanamaker, US department store merchant (1838 - 1922)

We’ve come a long way since the late1800s. Frankly there’s no excuse not knowing the effectiveness of all your advertising. These days we can measure virtually everything. And I’ll be bold enough to say that if you can’t measure it you shouldn’t do it.

In the age of internet and sophisticated telecommunications, marketers are able to accurately measure the effectiveness of all types of marketing activities. Even a good old-fashioned questionnaire can reveal lots about who is responding to your campaign.

Measuring success is vital to marketing planning and driving more from your marketing dollar. If you don’t know what’s worked before then you’re flying blind.

Test and Learn.

Sure, some marketing activities don’t work very well, perhaps for a variety of reasons.  After all marketing is not an exact science. The key point is to figure out what did work and what didn’t. Then you can do it better next time.

Here are my top six measuring tools:

1.       Dedicated telephone number for campaigns. As a minimum, make sure your call centre records the number of in-coming calls during the campaign period.

2.       Unique codes on letters. You can measure responses right down to an individual level. At the end of your campaign you can perform geo-demographic profiling to build an accurate picture of your responders. This works particularly well in direct marketing.

3.       Landing pages and online forms deliver accurate reporting for internet or email campaigns.

4.       Internet analytics packages will help you profile a number of aspects about your internet traffic. Even if your marketing activity is off-line, you can often attribute a spike in internet hits to a particular campaign by looking at the date range.

5.       Individually coded coupons can be used for driving traffic to stores or exhibition stands.

6.       Simple questionnaires can be conducted by telemarketing or in-store staff. They can ask and record the answer to one or two simple questions at the till or at the end of a telephone call. There is some margin for error in measuring success this way, however it will give you a starting point.

AND FINALLY:

Share your learnings. Don’t forget to write up campaign reviews and keep them in a central place for your marketing colleagues to view and learn from one another. Marketers often move on, and it would be a shame for this information to be lost.

What’s your top tip for measuring your marketing activity? Type your comments below and let’s share and learn!

Earn kudos in the workplace (and maybe a promotion)

No-one gets promoted for turning up each day, working nine to five and doing what they are told. True, you might be seen as the model employee, and certainly a reliable staff member, but it’s unlikely to deliver you extra dollars in your pay packet.

As marketers we’re ideas people, we use our talents every day to deliver projects and add value to our customers and stakeholders. So, why is it many of us don’t apply this talent to our careers?

If you're wondering how to make an impression on your boss, here are a few tips on getting noticed and rewarded. And, if you play your cards right, a promotion to the next step of your career.

Phase: 1 Planning

Have a good look around your company. Is there anything that could be done better from a marketing perspective? These are the types of things to think about:

·         A niche market that’s being ignored

·         A cross selling opportunity

·         Improvements to scripting or sales collateral

·         A way to improve customer loyalty

·         A more efficient way of doing things

Whatever it is, work out a plan of how you would tackle the opportunity. Try to make sure it’s not too large a project, it has to be something you’re capable of handling on top of your normal workload.

Work out budgets, time frames and an expected return on investment. Then draft a project plan.

Phase 2: Selling it to your Boss

Once you’ve thought through your proposal, arrange a time with your manager to present your ideas.

You will need to be positive and enthusiastic, and prepared to take ownership of the project. Remember it’s a sales pitch, you need to demonstrate all the benefits to be gained from your idea.

Be prepared for any objections, such as how you will find the time, or how you might get the extra funds.

Phase 3: Delivery

Great! Your boss loved it and asked you to implement your plan.

Make sure you stay on top of your normal day job while rolling out your project (unless, of course, your boss thought your idea was so important that they’ve re-assigned your duties so you can concentrate on it). Be prepared to put in some extra hours.

Anything that’s worth achieving is not without effort.

Phase 4: Celebrating Success

Once your project is successfully delivered, make sure you record the results and write up a review so you’ve got some concrete facts to present to your manager in a meeting. This is the ideal time to ask for the pay rise you’ve been angling for or to highlight the career path you would like to follow.

There are no guarantees to pay rises or promotions, of course. But at the very least you will have earned yourself some brownie points for your next review, and you’ll have given yourself some great job satisfaction in the process.

Here’s to your successful career in marketing!

Looking for more tips on being a better marketer? Follow me on Twitter: @CraftWrite