How to Track Offline Marketing Campaigns
Methods for tracking offline marketing efforts are not perfect, but they have great potential to let you know whether your marketing is helping you achieve your business goals. It is said that you cannot improve what you cannot measure, so why not measure what you can? Today, I’ll share five ways you can start tracking your offline marketing.
How to Track Offline Marketing Campaigns
1. URL Redirects
One way to track your offline marketing efforts is to set up a URL redirect. If your main business website is at the URL www.yourbusiness.com, you could set up another URL at www.yourbusiness.com/identifier that redirects to your main page. By using Google Analytics, you can see how many people visited that unique URL.
Pros: This is easy and effective. If you are on WordPress, I suggest using a plugin called Pretty Link Lite. The number of links you can create are unlimited with this plugin.
Cons: Someone may still type in your main URL even though the campaign inspired them to visit. They may also just Google your business name.
2. Unique Phone Numbers
By using a unique phone number for each offline advertising tactic, you will be able to see how many times that number was called and attribute it to a specific campaign.
Pros: Over time, you can collect this data if you have a way to pull it from your phone log. If you forget to ask someone where they are calling from, you will at least have a record of the call.
Cons: The logistics of multiple phone numbers may not ideal or financially feasible for every business.
3. Asking Your Customer
One thing many small business owners forget to do is to simply ask potential customers “Where did you hear about us?” We recommend asking this on every single phone call, and even having a phone log handy to document their answers.
Pros: This information can give you a lot of insight. Someone may say “I found you through Google,” or they may give a more elaborate answer which involves your campaign.
Cons: It’s easy to forget to ask, and with more people going online to find businesses, you’ll miss out on information from people who visit your website but don’t call.
3. Shortened URLs
If you don’t know how to set up a URL redirect within your website, you can use a URL shortener such as Owl.ly or Bitly. The tracking tools on those websites will tell you how many times the shortened URL was visited.
Pros: Shortened URLs are easy to set up. Just sign up for an account, do some copying and pasting, and you are good to go!
Cons: Some customers may not want to type in an unfamiliar link, and would be more likely to visit a URL with your business name in it. You’ll also need to remember which shortened URL you used for which campaign. Shortened URLs are also not tracked in Google Analytics, so all you’ll be able to see is how many times the link was accessed.
4. Custom Pages
If you don’t want to deal with URL redirects or shortened URLs, you can build a custom landing page for each campaign.
Pros: So long as the landing page URL is unique, you can assume that any visitor to that page is a result of the campaign. This method is easy to track and set up.
Cons: As with URL redirects, there is no guarantee customers will visit your landing page. They may just type your main URL instead.
5. Discount Codes
If you are offering something special in your campaigns, then you can use a unique discount code. When someone mentions or uses that discount code, you can attribute the sale to a specific campaign.
Pros: Many people are discount-driven, so if the offer is appealing, this tactic may increase the chance that they will call or visit your website. They may not do this if you are simply advertising your business with no strong call to action.
Cons: Discount-driven people may not be good long-term clients or high-paying clients, and relying too much on discounts can do irreversible damage to your business. I explained why in 5 Common Marketing Tactics That May Hurt Your Business.
Why You Should Start Tracking Offline Marketing
Every dollar matters for your business, and tracking is important for determining whether your marketing investment is paying off. The tracking methods I described are not perfect, but they are enough to help you make sure your business is advertising in the right places. You can try a few methods and see which work for you.
Maximizing your return on investment is a journey that begins with a single step. Take that step today and start tracking your offline marketing efforts.
Do you struggle with tracking the results of your marketing? Contact your marketing consultants in Medford, Oregon. We would love to help implement tracking systems for you.