Where
Do Your Leads Come From?
10
Questions to Help You Track Your Success.
Here is one version of a familiar saying in the industrial marketing arena, "I know that half of my marketing is working, I just don’t know which half.”
If marketers and advertisers were really tracking their marketing dollars, that saying wouldn’t apply. More often than not when I ask clients how they track their leads, they stumble for an answer; and, often, it is a sheepish, “we really don’t.” Sometimes they ask people who call in, "how did you hear about us?” and the reply is almost always, “the Internet.” (Of course it is with over 85 percent of B2B buyers beginning their research online.) My clients admit that’s as far as they probe. They just want to make the sale and they don’t want to annoy the person on the other end of line ready to buy.
If you don’t ask the questions, you’ll never really know what works. There are numerous software programs out there that promise to analyze your marketing efforts, but can a software program really measure your ROI?
The term ROI is used so often as the “end all” that we forget the purpose of that "magic number.” We need to be reminded that ROI is just a number. “Blasphemy!” you say? “No!” I say. It’s just a number--an indicator. The real purpose of determining ROI should be so we can do more of what works.
There is no substitute for thorough research when determining which promotional materials give you the most ROI. Tell the truth—no one can hear the answer in your head—do you really track your leads well?
All companies spend money and most companies should understand the importance of determining where money is best spent. If you approach the subject in this manner with your prospects, most will answer these questions happily.
Begin the call with telling the prospect/sale that you are gathering data to help you track the effectiveness of your marketing materials and let them know it will only take a few minutes of their time. Always remember to ask them first if this is a good time or should you call back at another time. When you have finished thank them for taking the time to help you.
The questions below, the long forms, have been timed and only take three minutes to ask and get answers. If the idea of asking 10 questions is just too many to confront, start with questions 1, 3, 4 and 10 (simple questions), these questions only take one minute to get answers.
Here are 10 questions you can ask your prospects to determine which marketing materials were effective in getting their attention (after the sale).
1. Where did you hear about us? If they heard about you “online,” ask where they found you online.
2. How long ago did they begin their search? This will help you in asking further questions below.
3. What are the top two (or three) trade magazines that you read?
4. Short Question:
Do you recall seeing an advertisement about us in the last ( time frame )? (insert research time frame from question #2.)
OR
Better yet, ask this question that will give you more data:
Here you should ask them yes/no answers about magazines that you have advertised in based on their search time frame.
In the last (time frame) have you read?:
Magazine A (yes or no)
Magazine B (yes or no)
Magazine C (yes or no)
A spreadsheet that lists the magazines and the months that you placed advertisements should be provided to the person asking the questions. It can be as simple as:
Magazine A March, April, May
Magazine B April
Magazine C March
Magazine D June
You can also have it separated by month.
March Magazine A, Magazine C
April Magazine A, Magazine B
May Magazine A
5. Short Question:
Have you ever read an article about our product/service?
This question is only valid if you have an PR firm getting you multiple articles per month or if you have had a recent article published about your company.
OR
Still better. In the last (time frame) have you read?
Magazine A (yes or no)
Magazine B (yes or no)
Magazine C (yes or no)
Again the use of a spreadsheet as above is ideal to track your editorial placements.
Instead of asking about specific magazines that you have had editorial placements, you could simply us the topic of the article as a reference to ask yes/no questions such as:
Have you read an article about (short story description) Ten tips on tracking leads?
Have you read an article about (short story description) How search engine marketing articles can boost your web leads?
If they came to you from the Internet: Did you see an article online about (company? product? or product category?) when you were searching the Internet?
(Only if they came to you from the internet.)
7. Have you received an email from us (if you do email marketing or enewletters)? How recent?
8. Have you received any materials by mail (if you do direct mail) from us. It is better to be more specific about a direct mail piece (i.e. did you receive mail from us that described our (insert direct mail description)? How recent?
9. How often do you click on the ads when you search the internet?
10. Did you click a regular link or an ad when coming to our site? (If they came from the Internet. If not. Ask How often they click on the ads on the Internet.)
Tracking which marketing materials are performing best will help determine where your marketing dollars are working so you can do more of it. Asking these questions will make everyone’s job easier and make everyone more money.
Lisa Zocco is the founder of Profusion PR, an industrial marketing company and industrial web marketing specialist. She has run many successful campaigns in which her clients experience increase sales through editorial coverage and search engine optimized articles. Contact: 310 503-8151; email info@profusionpr.com or visit www.profusionpr.com.
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