With your bottom line getting squeezed every day, maximizing - and tweaking - your advertizing spend is vital. Here are 9 things you can do, or look at, to ensure your spend is getting results.
Track your results. One of the most important things you must do. If you're not tracking, you have no idea whether any marketing is achieving a result. So ask every customer this simple question, "How did you find us?" If you're using special campaigns, consider a "hidden" landing page for that so you can more easily track results.
Check your form results. Are you regularly checking online form responses? Or do emails from your forms sit in an unchecked email box, or only get check once a week?
Response followup. Assuming you're not wasting your responses by not checking, what's your follow-up strategy? Do you have one? How many times will you try to make contact - 1, 2, 3....? Don't give up - be persistent!
Wrong target market. Have you clearly identified your target market, and are you pitching to them on their level? There are so many demographics which come into play here; poor choice will result in poor campaign performance.
Not thinking locally. While there are global businesses, even we as website designers, need to think locally even if we do have a global reach. A person wanting a website in London is more likely to engage at least a UK based firm, not one in Phoenix, AZ. Geo-locate your advertising, by targetting local customers.
Claim and optimize Google+ Local Pages. Following on from the last point, make sure your Google+ local pages are claimed and fully completed. This is a critical step in your marketing as it ties directly to your Google maps, something mobile searchers use a lot!
Poor telephone interaction. If you're at all worried your telephone manner may not be good, do some training. You've spent good money getting the lead, why blow it because you have poor telephone manner? Do you have a "sales track" for your phonecalls? What are your objectives when calling?
Misleading or fraudulent advertising. In addition to leaving yourself open to a lawsuit, will customers following your advertising find what they expect? Or will it feel like they've been "lead up the garden path"? A good maxim is under promise and over-deliver.
Discarding negative feedback & testimonials. You don't really want a website full of bad feedback, but most people aren't surprised that a long-running business has 1 or 2 - it's the price of doing business. But, rather than hiding them, use them to improve your business and your image. Follow up even more diligently those dissatisfied customers and try to put it right. And note your actions under their negative comments. Then other customers see that you are proactive in being a good businessperson.
