Tracking Your Results and Impact

The objective of marketing and advertising to your market is to get your name out there as many times and as many ways as possible. Making people aware of your services is essential to grow and have success. But how do you know if what you’re doing is hitting the target?

This might be the hardest aspect of marketing and can leave you in quite a quandary about how to spend your advertising dollars. Most people don’t realize how much big companies spend to track their advertising results. Evaluations by companies like Nielsen or Gallup can cost millions.

This is one reason small businesses are at a disadvantage when it comes to advertising. Usually the results are not enough to really stand out, and usually there isn’t a budget big enough to accurately track it.

Let’s consider a few types of advertising: magazines, newspapers, billboards, and social media. All of these will get your name out there where people can become more familiar with you, your company and your services. All of them will benefit you as long as you have your target market and you’re appealing to it.

The Internet Factor

The biggest problem with tracking results from any of these sources is the very thing that really should make it easier – search engines. Almost everyone uses the Internet to research products and services. So, each time they see something that piques their interest they usually will go “online” to learn about it. When you asked them how they learned about you in a survey, they say, “the Internet”, and many times will say from your website. But is that where they “first” learned about you?

Many people will see an ad or road sign or sign on a vehicle that motivates them to research the company online. When asked they will rarely give accurate information about how they wound up at your business.

Imagine another scenario where someone refers you to a doctor or other service. You look it up online and learn about it and make an appointment or just buy the product. How would they ever know how you initially learned about that provider or product? It’s not easy!

In most cases, small businesses have to trust the system, so to speak. If the ad is getting out there where their target audience is, then they are successfully improving their position in the market. If you know your ad is in front of thousands of people online, it is having impact, whether you can measure it or not.

The More You Do the Better

The more advertising you do, the more impact you will have. People need to see your company name and services many times before they decide to call you or buy your product. That’s why a company like GEICO will run 50 ads in just one football game. The more times people see it, the more likely they are to call.

One old cliché is: “A man owns a business and says advertising doesn’t work. Then he advertises it for sale when he’s ready to sell it.”

Advertising is not easy or cheap. To think it is, is a rueful mistake. It is a fascinating occupation that accounts for most of everything sold and delivered. If you don’t know what you’re doing, find someone who does, and pay them. If you can’t, then read some books and watch videos about design.

The things to ask yourself include: Have you clearly identified your target audience? Is your display or video directed at your target audience? Is it appealing to those who need or want your services? When you’re feeling like you need more response, these are key things to look at. There is no guarantee one will work better than another, but with accumulated information, you can make better decisions. The more you do the more likely you are to find the ‘magic’ language that works the best.