Let’s be honest. Marketing costs money. How do you know if the money you spend to get your message out is bringing you something in return? How do you measure your marketing success?

For some businesses, the unfortunate answer is that they don’t know. Or their “success” is based on how well people liked their campaign.  In today’s economy, that’s not good enough. So what should you measure? It doesn’t have to be complicated (although, as you get better at measuring, you can increase the complexity of what you measure). Here are three things to measure.

• How many responses did you receive from your efforts (whether it’s direct mail, email, space ads, Tweets, landing pages, etc.).

• How many of those responses turned into leads (someone interested in more information or a quote)?

• How many sales did you actually make as a result of the effort?

Make sure you keep track of what you spent as well.  A campaign that generates $10,000 in sales may not be a success—if the campaign cost you $15,000.

Want to talk more about what you can measure? Let us know! We’d be more than happy to help!

What’s important for you to measure?

We’ve all heard of “One-Hit-Wonders”. Those are the singers or bands that managed to produce one song that was good enough (or strange enough!) to make a big splash. Unfortunately (or in some cases, fortunately) they were never able to reproduce that success. Some of them simply moved on to other careers. Others still sing their same song in third-rate nightclubs. One song does not make a career.

Businesses sometimes have that same experience marketing their goods and services.  Often that happens when they focus on the project rather than on the program.  Good marketing is the result of knowing and understanding your audience (who they are and what they need)—and then figuring out how to reach them with a message that lets them know your company can meet that need. Good marketing recognizes that you may have to try several different methods before your audience hears your message.

Unfortunately, many businesses get hung up on creating something clever or cute, or they focus on a gimmick to get people to notice them. They may make a splash with their first effort, but then there’s no follow up. When there’s no more attention, they give up claiming that (direct mail/email/web/social media) marketing doesn’t work. They’re the business equivalent of a “one-hit-wonder.”

Successful marketing doesn’t have to be hugely expensive, but it does require thought and work—and time.  We’d love to talk to you about how to avoid the “one-hit-wonder” syndrome.

Have any “one-hit-wonder” stories you’d like to share?

Business Need:

With the tightening of the construction market, Powell Homes wanted to launch a high-end remodeling division and needed a fast start.

The Objective:

Secure at least 10 in-home presentations and convert at least 3 of them to sales.  Projects needed to exceed $50,000 each.

Target Audience:

Powell Renovations targeted 800 homes in the Normandy Park, Washington area where Brooks and Todd Powell live.  The list was a conventional compiled database based on postal carrier routes for their neighborhood.

Project Description:

Normandy Park is an exclusive area of Seattle, Washington.  Homes are primarily custom or high-end spec homes.  Powell Renovations wanted to make a personal appeal as “neighbors.”  Powell Homes started three generations ago and enjoys an excellent reputation in the area.  Budget was approximately $3000.00.

Graphic presentation on the jumbo card (10”x13”) included a personal letter and photos of Brooks and Todd on the address side of the card, with 4 photos of Powell-finished interiors on the back.

Powell Renovations offered a $50 Starbucks gift card as a thank you to those who responded and came to the meeting where they also received a free home renovation analysis.  Response options included calling Powell Renovations’ local phone number or visiting a web landing page.

Results:

To date, Powell Renovations has completed 8 in-home presentations.  These visits resulted in three renovation projects totaling $300,000.  One project came about months after the mailer dropped.   Powell Renovations also received a call from a homeowner on Mercer Island whose daughter had passed the card on.  The homeowner contracted for a $150,000 remodeling project. Brooks and Todd are quite happy with their ROI of 10,000%!

For more great ideas, contact Patty Coldwater at pcoldwater@tmrdirect.com or call Toll-free: 1-866-396-7048.

Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it. — Dwight D. Eisenhower

Who knew that our 34^th President was such a marketing guru? Many business people assume that marketing is all about getting people to do something they don’t want to do (and usually that involves parting with their money). But good marketing is actually about getting people to do something they want to do.

In the world of direct response, your offer is the key to motivating people—getting them to do what they want to do anyway. People already want to be smarter, better looking, healthier, happier, richer, more successful—a better person. Chances are, you have a product or service that can help people toward that goal. You’ve got something they want and you offer it to them in return for something you want (most of the time—but not always—that’s money). What will make them respond?

First of all, you need to make it clear what they will receive and what you will receive (“For only $15 you will receive the book How to Save $1500 on Your Taxes”). If that’s a compelling enough reason to act (and you tell them how), you can stop there. But you may want to add motivation. Maybe it’s urgency (“Order today and you’ll receive this book before April 15, and save this year!”). Maybe it’s making life easy for them (“Order now and you’ll prepare your taxes in half the time!”). Maybe it’s financial (Order in the next 3 days and get 15% off the normal price!”). Maybe it’s additional value (“Order now and we’ll send you updates for next year for FREE!”).

Your job is to get people to do what they already want to do. Your offer helps them to see why now is a great time to do that.

What offers motivate you?

Have a question or comment you’d like to discuss offline? Contact us!