Ten tips for increasing response rates

In the current climate every penny counts when spending money to bring more footfall through the door. The big question is do you know where your response is coming from? At the end of each week, do you go through the enquiries you have received and identify the source? Leads that have come in via email, normally through your website are a little easier to track, telephone calls could come from a number of sources. The task of finding this out is often put aside in favour of actually handing the enquiry, but this activity should be at the top of every marketer's to do list.

The following tips will help you to increase response as well as capture valuable information about the source of your enquiries and how you are handling them. This method will help you to not only identify which advertising is generating the best response; it will tell you how much it cost to get a lead from each form of marketing.

1. 1. Find out where your response is coming from - Call tracking is a simple way to cleanse and refresh your current marketing activity. Find out what advertising your clients are responding to by allocating a specific telephone number to each channel. The call volumes can be logged into reports and viewed via the internet in easily readable report format. More on call tracking.

Don't cut your budget: focus it

3. Make your numbers dynamic on your web site - Using trackable numbers will show that more and more direct response is coming in via the internet and PPC advertising. Using simple code in your web site, it is possible to change the telephone number that appears on your site according to the source of the visitor. This will give you a vital insight to the source of your enquiries. By understanding that a PPC or online banner advertisement generated your enquiry, you can further improve the focus of your marketing spend and increase enquiries as a result.

4. Create compelling offers - During boom times, it is easy to let advertising become brand heavy and too clever. Review all your advertising and go back to basic messages with simple but strong offers that will compel consumers to respond and enquire. Response driven advertising with special offers are much easier to measure and change tactically. Furthermore, they bring in the all important life blood – sales!

...go back to basic messages with simple but strong offers...

5. Fall in love with the telephone again - However much you are spending on advertising, if you don’t handle telephone enquiries in the right way, your investment will be wasted. Enquiries coming in through the telephone are often easier to convert as there is an instant opportunity to build rapport. However, ensure that your staff are trained to speak confidently about your range of products and are able to overcome objections about price and availability. Improve call handling in your organisation and increase conversion rates. Try recording the calls and play them back to staff to find out what areas could be improved upon. More on call recording.

6. Start social networking - Try some online networking and drive traffic to your website. Visit some forums that discuss your business activities; give advice and ask some questions. Most forums have a signature that provides a link to your website which is an excellent way to get traffic to your site. Start twittering and update your listing regularly to get as many followers as you can. Put links in your tweets and you’ll get referral traffic. http://twitter.com/mediahawk

Existing customers are much easier to sell to as they have bought from you before

7. Don’t forget your existing customers in the quest for new ones - Existing customers are much easier to sell to as they have bought from you before. Not only will they value your service but their acquisition costs will be significantly lower. Offer them your latest product or service that isn’t available online or anywhere else. Make them feel special and they will come back for more.

8. Take a risk and refresh – Go on, take a risk and be prepared to act outside you and your industries marketing comfort zone. You could try featuring your products outside of their normal environment such as a trade show or retail outlet. As part of the risk, have a look at refreshing your corporate image and web site – this will give your company a lift and it is sometimes what’s needed to kick start a new source of enquiries.

9. Do some research - Find out about the route your average customer makes to get to you. Build up a profile of your target buyer and this will help to develop new ways to capture their attention. Take the time to speak to your existing customers, send them a survey to fill out and create a reliable picture of where your target market is most likely to find you.

10. Use a call whisper - Introduce a call whisper to your numbers and this will allow your staff to identify and respond to enquiries more effectively. If every call that comes from a specific marketing campaign was announced as such, prior to the telephone being answered, the response to the customer would be faster and more efficiently handled. More on call whisper