Tried and True Methods for Building Response Mechanisms into your Communications

In order to measure ROI, you need to make a link between the investment and the return. To do that, you must create a way for the customer or prospect to respond to your communications. You need to build response mechanisms into all your communications.

Build response mechanisms into everything. Every ad and press release-online or in print-and every direct mail piece, trade show or promotional event should contain at least one mechanism by which customers and prospects can respond. It's the call-to-action. And each one should be coded. If you print a brochure with a unique 800 number, then you know that any calls to that number are a direct result of that brochure. If you want to drive prospects to your Web site, then make a unique URL that's prominent in your brochure.

Establish internal processes. This is sometimes the hardest part-creating processes within your organization to ensure that all leads are captured, recorded and reported. You may need to include the cost of a call center in your communications budget, with personnel to answer the phones and record responses. You may need to work with your IT department to add a portal with a new URL to your Web site and ensure that online responses are tracked. You need to ensure that capturing lead information is systemic to your organization. It's the only way to find out who's sending those reply cards, circling numbers to request further info, e-mailing to ask questions, ordering from the Web site, or calling those 800 numbers.

Plan interactive communications. Naturally, the communications you plan to create should support your objectives. When those communications encourage customer and prospect interaction, so much the better. Because an e-newsletter, for example, containing links that invite the reader to get more info about a specific topic will tell you a lot. Like the level of interest in a particular product or service. And what prospects should be contacted by your sales force.

Bribe prospects to respond. Offer white papers, guarantees, coupons to get responses. Be shameless about this; research what your target market needs to help them do their job better and then provide it. This could be anything from a calibration chart to an assessment of the efficiency of a plant's processes, as long as it relates to the product or service you're trying to sell. And if you can't make your offers free, then make them irresistible, at a really low price, for example. You can do this via direct mail, advertising and the Internet. You can probably do it via PR if your offer can be construed as news. It's a good way to jump start responses. Once you have response mechanisms in place in all your communications, then you have a way to track how effectively you're generating leads by tying the lead to a sale. DataDriven MarCom will help with the rest.