How do I track the performance of each ad? Well, if I was advertising industrial products I would probably advertise in publications where people are wanting industrial products.
Whether that's trade magazines or whether that is direct mail, that's where I would be advertising--plus online, people searching for a particular item.
Tracking should be an easy process and it's a big mistake if you're not tracking.
The way to track your response from each ad is to just have a code.
So when you call up, mention reference code XY123 or whatever or ask for this person.
It's really as simple as that.
But then you've obviously got to track it and you've got to train yourself to ask for it.
Now a lot of people might say, "Oh my staff won't do that.
" Dan Kennedy's got a saying, "Well you're the boss.
They will do it.
" And he says, "Far too many businesses let the" and he puts it in quite a funny way, "Let the inmates run the asylum.
" So really that is what you need for your business and it is integral that you get that tracking because otherwise you can't make smart business decisions.
Let me give you an example of why that tracking is so important.
There's a saying by John Wannamaker, "I know half of my advertising is wasted.
The only problem is I don't know which half.
" But tracking allows you to see whether spending $500 dollars on an ad every week for a year is working.
It might be doing terrible.
So you're wasting $20 grand a year on something which is barely bringing in anything at all.
Then again it may be working amazingly.
So the next year you say, "Awe I don't think it's working.
" So you stop using it and your business drops down.
Then you say, "Oh maybe I shouldn't have done that.
" You can't make wise decisions in the dark.
So I really encourage you to implement a tracking process.