7 Ideas to Score Higher Marks for Your Advertising Campaigns and Track Your Return on Investment

by Laura Noonan, published in Career College Central – January 2010

Seven Ideas:

1. Commit to an advertising campaign that integrates several media formats but maintains the same call-to-action throughout all pieces of the campaign.

2. Clearly state a call-to-action. What is it that you want people to do? For instance, “Visit our web site to learn more about our accelerated culinary programs.” “Log onto (SPECIFIC URL) and find the program that is right for you.” “We can offer specialized programs based on your desired career path and offer you a free consultation to find the best program for your culinary passions.” “Acquire new skills to set you on the path to success; visit (specific URL) today.”

3. Use a direct-response tool in all pieces of the campaign that is easy for buyers to remember and easy to track, like a toll-free vanity 800 number with call tracking services.

4. Analyze the response rates to your overall advertising efforts by monitoring your campaigns and accessing call tracking to measure how many calls come into your admissions department as a result of your ad buys.

5. Track the cost-per-lead of your campaigns based on the cost of the overall campaign versus the number of leads the campaign generates. This will show which marketing eforts were most effective and wehre you can make adjustments in your spending. You can better determine what mediums your leads are responding to and perhaps tweak your creative approach to reach them.

6. Build a strong lead database, learn more about your prospects and market directly to these contacts. Research tells us that people are using more than the Internet to research continuing education programs. A toll-free service with a call-tracking system can capture each incoming caller’s name, address and demographic profile, including average home value and household income, based on the caller’s location.

7. Stay top-of-mind. Instead of a one-time splash, develop campaigns that keep your name in the marketplace and in front of people on a regular basis. If you have to cut back somewhere, buy smaller newspaper ads, main postcards instead of letters, or run shorter radio and television spots during non-peak hours. Smaller ads and shorter spots allow you to stretch budgets and maintain a presence in the media for a longer period of time. And repetition is the key to retention!

Finally, as advertising guru Leo Burnett said, “Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.”

Laura Noonan has 15 years of experience in the vanity 800 numbers and telecommunications industry. She coaches hundreds of clients each year on using toll-free vanity 800 numbers as direct marketing tools to increase advertising response rates. Contact Laura for more information, or call 1-800-NEW-SALE.