Let’s face it, expanding your business and finding new, innovative ways to reach out and connect with potential (or even current) customers and clients is far from easy.
Unfortunately there is no crystal ball to gaze into that can tell us all the answers. In order to find out what works and what’s waste, you need to develop sound strategies that will allow you to recognize the best ways to reach your desired audience.
Today, I’d like to cover a few simple and easy tips that can help you track your ROI, in turn helping you determine the most effective and reliable ways that your marketing is reaching your customers.
Ask your customers how they heard about you.
Sometimes when we get a new customer or client, we can get so caught up in helping them or figuring out their needs that we can overlook one giant detail–how you got them in the door in the first place! Simply asking your customers how they heard about you can be one of the easiest ways to find out how people are learning about your business and what is getting them through the door. Not only does it give you valuable information, but it’s also a great way to open communication lines with a customer and let them know you’re interested in them.
Track all of your contacts (phone calls, emails or walk-ins).
Having a central system to keep track of the specific reasons customers are contacting you can serve as an irreplaceable tool in determining future marketing campaigns. If you’re continually advertising and marketing for a particular product or service, yet people keep coming to you for something completely different, you may need to rework what products or services you’re pushing. This will help you decide what types of materials and platforms are working for your business.
Use unique promos and code all marketing materials and emails.
Along with tracking your contacts, having customers use specific codes on promotions can give you tangible data to see which methods are reaching the most customers and how those methods are bringing customers to you. Additionally, this can make customers feel exclusive and not like “just another number.”
Use Google Analytics.
This is a free and easy way to get an in-depth view at what type of traffic is going to your website. Knowing your audience and having the ability to track the ways your customers are finding your site can help reduce your customer acquisition costs dramatically. It’s very simple to use and can be registered through Google+. Using one of their Google Analytics’ codes on your website will give you access to the number of unique visits, repeat traffic, and page views on your Google dashboard.
Use Social Media Tracking.
First of all, if you’re not using social media to improve or expand your business–you need to. It’s an extremely cost-effective way of reaching specific audiences. Tracking tools like Tweetdeck and Hootsuite are free and will tell you when users are mentioning your business and products on these platforms. This can allow you to share what people are saying about your business; they’re like mini testimonials. On the flipside, if someone is not satisfied with your products or services this can help you address them personally and get the issue resolved. This can create an even more unique customer experience and will show your clients and potential patrons that you truly care.
We know that when it comes to marketing, each and every penny needs to be stretched out as far as it can reach. This only illustrates the point further that keeping track of what’s working and what’s wasting can be the biggest factor in a successful marketing campaign. So try and utilize some of these simple strategies to see where your ROI is coming from.
