Tracking Results - Is Anyone Paying Attention

Question #2. Is anyone in your client's organization tracking results to determine what works for them?

Last time, we discussed the importance of getting a truly complete understanding of the reasons for the promotion, and other details that will help in making wise decisions regarding the product to be used. Today, we want to look even harder at the primary reason anyone does a promotion: To cause the end user to take action!

Call me crazy, but I would be shocked if even half of your clients are measuring the results of the promotions you are providing. The reason I'm so certain of this is that the products we send out, and the other products that I know are being sent out, do not have any method associated with them that would allow for measurement of action.

Let me say it another way. Most of the bottles we ship have a brand, and nothing else, printed on the body of the bottle. Slightly less than half of the artwork we receive includes a phone number and/or website. Less than 10% call for action suggested by the advertiser.

Assuming that some of those who are including a website or phone number ask visitors to the website or callers to the number how they came to hear about the company, then we might have 20% or so of all promotional products being tracked for results.

If there is no tracking of results, there is no way to know if you are doing your job well. If there is no way to determine whether or not you are doing your job well, you have no leverage for keeping your client in the face of competition.

Oh sure, there are some other ways to judge performance. Do sales go up in the period of the promotion? Are there less injuries on the job? More inquiries during the roll out? But these are pretty squishy numbers. Not the kind I'd like to use to justify my position with my customer.

YOU CAN DRAMATICALLY INCREASE YOUR VALUE TO THE CLIENT AND SPECIFICALLY TO THE BUYER BY HELPING HIM ESTABLISH A CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS AND A METHOD OF MEASURING RESULTS.

Comment from Jeryn Freeman

The one area I'd like to see expanded is tracking results - question #2. In a high percentage of situations, the customers have no idea what they expect or want to achieve. Questioning typically elicits vague thoughts: "be nice to our employees" - "show our employees that we care about them - or appreciate their work" - "just a little something for our sales reps to leave behind" and so on. This is the point in the conversation where most of us smile nicely & change the subject. We don't know what questions to ask, or we do ask a couple of 'targeting' questions & get blank stares or more vague responses.
Or maybe the customer says "We want to increase sales of product XJZ."
This is an area you could write a whole book on - & I think you have the skill to do that.

Comment from Joanne Rush-Worrall

However, when I read the article, it seems to assume (in the instance of your sport bottle at least) that everyone who only uses a logo or web site on the bottles you sell doesn't have a tracking mechanism to make the promotion work. That assumes too much. I believe you can still track the success of a promotion without emblazoning the promotional product with your entire message. It's incumbent on the promo products rep to set that stage.

When I meet with my clients BEFORE the event, I always ask them what they're trying to accomplish with their upcoming promotion, and then we set a second meeting where I present the promo program. If their goal was to get their message into the hands of 200-300 potential clients, we present the promo give-away as a "trade off" - the booth visitor "trades" information on their need in return for a promotional product. The client ends up with the pre-qualified leads they need and the potential new customer has a usable item that will remind him of the company when the actual follow-up sales call is made. Those prequalified leads are not "squishy" numbers in my book. Those are a solid sales starting point for the client.

Even if the results do not meet expectations, they establish a basis for the next promotion. Should we change the promotion, the product, the copy, the art, the timing? Or do we lower expectations, and rerun the promotion with minor adjustments?

You can now also take the results back to your brain trust and review the project. When you come back to your client with polished recommendations based on highly skilled thinking, it will doubly impress.

To show that we at American Quality Products are more than talk, we are creating ways for you to accomplish the very goals we are proposing. California Springs line now offers two easy methods to promote action and create measurable results. Available for immediate shipment, removable 4 color stickers that can be attached anywhere on the bottle. Also available now, Hang Tags designed to go inside or outside of the bottle. For full information go here.

With the use of these stickers or hang tags, the bottle art can remain pristine, therefore increasing the likelihood of daily use over many years. At the same time, the end user has a "coupon" that directs him to take action.

Next Time - In your dealing with clients you can only control about 15% of the quality of the customer service. Who controls the other 85%?