It is often said that billions of dollars each year are wasted on ineffective marketing. Systems should be developed and implemented to provide data on which promotion strategies work and which do not.

The following can be used to measure success.

1. Asking. Everyone who makes an inquiry to your company should be asked how he/she found out about your organization. The various order and inquiry forms should collect this data that are periodically analyzed and then used in marketing planning.

2. Coding. Print advertising and brochures distributed through various channels can be uniquely coded. These will then be used to track inquiries and registrations. For example, brochures distributed at a particular conference or trade show would be uniquely coded. By checking the code, it will be possible to measure the response rates from that event.

3. Surveys. A random sample of customers can be regularly surveyed to provide feedback to your company to improve its operations, and to respond to changing customer requirements. These surveys should ask participants where they first heard of your company’s products, and their preferred methods of receiving information about upcoming products and events. The surveys should also gather information about satisfaction with the products and services.

4. Internet. On your web site, a counter can be incorporated to keep track of the number of “hits” or visits to the site. Most web sites now have programs that provide detailed statistics on the traffic to the site. Because extensive cross-marketing will be used, these hits can be correlated to other advertising activities. A guest book will also be included on the web site get more information and leads on potential customers. E-mail inquiries and on-line orders will also be tracked.

Using these strategies, the managers will know where to focus their marketing dollars and energies. They will be able to allocate their resources to marketing channels that will have the biggest returns.