Marketing ROI without Call Tracking is Like Baseball Stats that Exclude Away Games

In 2010, Sales Renewal began testing trackable phone numbers to more comprehensively capture and benchmark our lead generation results. We now require them for our clients’ sales and marketing programs. If you’re a client, you’re probably very familiar with our “pitch” about adding trackable phone numbers to your sales and marketing programs.
For good reason. The very first time we implemented phone tracking for a client, our trackable leads jumped by 400%! That’s right, this client’s analytics was missing 4 out of every 5 leads our sales and marketing programs were generating. Obviously, this meant that any statistical analysis we did (lead analysis, which programs had the best ROI, etc.) were highly skewed and unrepresentative.
Each client starts with a set of trackable phone numbers for their website and one to use in directories and other non-website, online listings. This allows us to track referral activity in addition to website leads. Other options include toll-free numbers and separate numbers for different marketing campaigns or promotions. The calls to these numbers are integrated with other leads, like webform submits and PPC leads, into our proprietary analytics program, which allows clients to see – in real time – the results.
For a good overview of how a trackable phone system works, we’d also like to point you to a guest post on our site – Call Tracking 101, by our call tracking partner, Mongoose Metrics (now merged with ifbyphone.com). Find out how, by adding call tracking to your set of data tools, you can fill the holes in your data, and gain insights into which online efforts are driving offline calls.
Concerned you aren’t accurately benchmarking your sales and marketing programs and are making improper ROI decisions? Sales Renewal can help. Call 508-529-4300 or contact us today.

Originally published October 2013. Updated January 2015.

Client’s Collaboration with Sales Renewal Leads to New Strategies, Brand, Site, Marketing Programs and … a Blue Ribbon

It is generally rare for two different companies, let alone a client and its vendor, to work together so thoroughly, on so many levels, that the resulting whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

However, thanks to Sales Renewal’s revolutionary JointSourcing Solution (a unique hybrid combining elements of joint venturing with elements of outsourcing, in which shared risks and rewards align Sales Renewal’s economic incentives with those of its clients), such synergies are the norm.

If you’ve been wondering how JointSourcing and its three, Blueprint, Build and Sell steps actually works in practice, in the real world, this latest installment of our JointSourcing in Action Case Studies series is for you.

This issue provides a detailed, step-by-step view of how Sales Renewal partnered with our client MATsolutions to overcome their business, marketing and sales challenges to produce a marketing & sales system neither company could have developed as quickly or efficiently on its own. One result of the collaboration: MATsolutions receiving the prestigious Blue Ribbon Small Business of the Year for 2014 award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

As Steve Wedler, VP Sales and Marketing, MATsolutions has said:

“Over the last year with Sales Renewal’s critical assistance, we’ve rebranded the company, launched a new e-commerce site and introduced marketing programs and supporting technologies that truly distinguish MATsolutions from its competitors. Having two highly dedicated and bright teams responsible for this transformation has allowed us to deliver something far superior than either team alone could have. This award is a great acknowledgement of the advances we have made.”

Read the JointSourcing in Action case study.

The 6 Best Practices That Will Grow Your Sales in 2014

Sales Renewal clients are accustomed to hearing the term JointSourcing – a unique business model that combines pay-for-performance with expense sharing. The model means that we focus on not simply what works, but what works cost effectively. The key to growing sales through JointSourcing is a multi-pronged approach to sales and marketing.

The six key “prongs” we focus on when creating a JointSourcing plan for our clients are:

1. Website Marketing

• This includes building a website that is written with your customers and prospects in mind. (Start by Choosing the Right Domain Name.)
• Optimize your website for search engines – all the right keywords and search terms in all the right places.
• If you sell locally, in a physical location, be sure to also maintain a local presence on the web.

2. Content Marketing

• Create good-quality content (for your blog, via downloads and white papers) on a consistent basis.
• Let people know you have this great content via social networks that are appropriate for your prospects and customers. (Want some tips for building your Facebook business page?)

3. Social Media Marketing

• Grow your social network – join groups, forums; interact with customers and peers – and spread the word about your business by creating fresh content for your network. (Here’s a real life example of how it works.)
• You can also look beyond the obvious major networks – have you considered using Reddit for your business, for example?
• And of course, your customers are often your best ambassadors – use customer reviews and testimonials to your best advantage.

4. Customer Marketing

• Keep the customers you have happy and earn ongoing revenue from them with E-mail newsletters (and remember to continually test your message!)
• Loyalty programs – from multiple-purchase discounts to special membership programs – are another way to generate revenue from loyal customers.

5. Paid Marketing

• Quick to start and offering near real-time control, advertising in general and Pay-per-Click advertising specifically, can be a very effective way to get your products or services right in front of prospects who are ready to buy.
• And with the right targeting, messaging and offer, direct [paper or email] marketing is hard to beat for growing B2B or B2C businesses.

6. Strategy and Management

• No marketing program should be contemplated without benchmarks and continuous improvement built right in. That’s why businesses need to employ all of the analytical tools and best practices available in order to be continually assured their sales and marketing programs are cost effective and yield the best R.O.I. (And please don’t forget the old fashioned telephone, because Marketing ROI without Call Tracking is Like Baseball Stats that Exclude Away Games).

Will 2014 be the year your business maximizes its online sales and marketing to grow sales? Sales Renewal can help get you started. Contact us to find out how.