SMBs have a lot on their plates. With all the attention on growth and new customer acquisition, some objectives can fall to the wayside. But one thing that should never slip through the cracks is tracking marketing spend, and here’s why.
You can reach target audiences
Most SMBs can’t afford to waste money on advertising to the wrong market. By tracking marketing spend, SMBs can stop guessing at which ads and marketing campaigns are driving money — and which aren’t. Tools as simple as unique trackable phone numbers on all advertising efforts can ensure that you are able to tell which leads are being driven from where. It’s a simple way to track ad effectiveness, enabling you to allocate funds from underperforming marketing initiatives to those that are actually generating leads.
You can negotiate better ad rates
Newspapers, bulletin boards, and other print ad sellers will negotiate better rates for companies who run ads consistently. The problem is, SMBs often flip-flop between two or more publications because they don’t know which performs better, causing their placement opportunities to go down while their prices go up. When you are tracking marketing spend as well as cost per lead, you can run ads consistently in the places that drive new business without wasting money on ads that don’t.
You can turn anyone who answers the phone into a knowledgeable sales professional
For many SMBs, your receptionist, office manager, or whoever is nearest the phone is responsible for converting incoming calls into sales—whether they have sales expertise or not. But with whisper messaging technology, you gain insight into who is calling and why. You’ll know where calls are derived from before you answer so that you can better address and route them.
You can stop losing leads due to response delays
Do you find that you’ve missed out on leads because no one followed up in a timely manner? Stop giving your competitors a spot at the table by responding immediately to all leads. Using call routing tools that ensure you get a sales call no matter where you are stops that gap between the customer’s inquiry and your response.
You can be everywhere and still be at work
Whether it’s meeting with new clients, vendors, attending trade shows, or just taking a much-needed break, you do it all for your SMB. While you can’t afford to stay tied to your desk, you also can’t afford to miss a lead. With the right call management tools, you can forward calls to your cell phone, home phone, or even a colleague’s office so you’ll never miss the opportunity to convert your leads into customers before your competitors do.
SMBs have a lot on their plate, but the right tools can make that full plate a lot easier to manage, and when you realize the importance of tracking marketing spend, it’s a lot better for you in the long run.