7 Tracking Tools Smart Integrated Marketers Use

Direct marketing encourages recipients to act quickly on an offer. Surprisingly, though, less than 30% of small businesses are using any tracking tools! While the definition of success is unique to each client and product or service, savvy integrated marketers know that setting up tracking methods within each campaign provides the user data necessary to meet their criteria for a successful campaign. 

Below we will look at seven tracking tools for measuring direct response campaign success. Determine which are likely to work best for your business and start using them right away so that you can stop wasting money on campaigns that don’t work. 

Tip: integrated marketers should ensure that any point of contact listed on a marketing piece is unique and trackable. 

Trackable Phone Numbers

Call tracking remains an easy and efficient way to measure response rate. Marketers can use a third party to set up a unique number for each direct mail piece sent or lead contacted. Alternatively, you can set up a single toll-free number to include in your marketing. All calls made to that phone number are forwarded to your regular business number. A third phone option is to provide a code that users must give when calling into your organization. You will want to empower your team to accept those calls and track how many people use the code. 

Tip: use different numbers for each offer you create so that your tracking doesn’t get muddled. 

Custom Landing Pages

When used jointly with other tracking methods on this list, an exclusive landing page is a handy data aggregator. Whether you send users to this designated page on your website to input a discount code or fill out an information capture form, landing pages collect customer data. 

Trackable/Personalized URLs (pURLs)

There are two options for using URLs to help you keep track of the online responses of your recipients. First is a trackable URL, a campaign-specific URL that leads to a landing page on your website. You will then use analytics tools to track the number of visits to that landing page and see the campaign’s performance. The second option is to create custom pURLs for each campaign recipient. Requiring a high level of personalization these pURLs allow you to track who visits your landing page at the individual campaign level. pURLs also tell you who is responding to your campaigns and tracks their movements on your site. 

Coupons

An oldie but still effective, include exclusive physical coupons with your direct mailer and track their in-person redemption to measure success. 

Coupon or Promotional Codes

Like coupons, custom one-off discount codes (a.k.a. coupon or promotional codes) can be added to any campaign and easily redeemed by recipients. These typically offer a percentage or flat rate off the price of an item or service. 

QR Codes

Consider adding a distinctive QR code to your campaign. When scanned, the code sends users to a unique landing page. Users are not required to memorize or use a URL, and you need only confirm traffic to the destination landing page. You can then easily track how many people visited that landing page. These are especially good for time-sensitive offers. 

Submission Forms

Almost more of an add-on to the tracking tools above, submission forms are an opportunity to learn more about your leads, gathering more information than simply supplying a code or clicking a link would allow. Include one on a custom landing page and draw your customers further into the funnel. Keep it brief but think about asking for their email, phone number, name, or anything particularly relevant to your business. 

Last Thoughts

Today’s marketing environment is complex, and proving return on investment (ROI) is a priority. Fortunately, there are many tracking tools available to integrated marketers, allowing them to see the direct impact of their campaigns and determine if each is effective. Do not waste money and resources; use tracking methods to measure the marketing response of your next campaign.