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Irving, TX—John Wanamaker, the famed Philadelphia retailer who invented the modern department store, is widely believed to have said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.” Sadly, it’s too late for old John—and his namesake store—but luckily for the rest of the retail world, there are some surprisingly easy ways to track the effectiveness of both your advertising and public relations efforts. A recent article in Multibriefs.com highlights some super-easy tracking ideas:

1. Just ask. Whenever someone calls or comes in, ask how they heard about you. Write down the answers and keep track. Within a month, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what’s working—and within three to six months you’ll have an in-depth understanding.

2. Use a tracking code in your news releases and your ads. A simple “department” in your contact address can suffice, says the article. For example, P.O. Box 100, Dept. HB1, would mean “House Beautiful magazine, January issue.” If you are asking for telephone responses, direct callers to ask for a different “operator number” in each ad or press release so you know what’s driving the calls.

3. Get a separate phone line to test a particular phone book, Internet address, or special market. Assign that phone number only to what you are testing—but still be sure to ask each caller how they heard of you, and write it down with your other call tracking.

4. If a code seems too impersonal, direct callers to ask for a particular person in lieu of a code so you know where they saw the ad or press release. (This can be a real person or a made-up name used as a code.)

5. Put a “priority code” on each piece of direct mail so you can track what’s most effective.

6. Tracking ads is easiest when the ad contains a coupon or gift certificate. Any information you need can be put into a tracking code on the coupon or certificate.

Read more here.

Top image: Blackhorseconsulting.blogspot.com