Though I’m usually alone at my computer (unless you count the dog), I do have some great virtual colleagues. One of these is Tami Dowers at Onsharp. She does paid search marketing there, while I specialize in optimization for organic search.
Yesterday, Tami said, “I hear people saying that PPC is expensive, but I think they don’t calculate the ROI on other marketing methods.”
Tami was pointing out that most companies don’t track the ROI of their other marketing as well as they do the cost per conversion of their PPC campaigns.
Just how much do you spend on TV or radio ads, and how many customers come to you as a result? Exactly what did your last trade show or direct mail campaign cost you, and how many sales resulted?
Most companies don’t really know. The costs of the trade show get sorted out into travel, printing, and payroll as well as marketing. The broadcasting can’t be measured precisely — even those who are careful about testing and include coupons or special offers usually just compare one campaign to another, rather than calculating the cost per conversion.
As Tami put it, “I have a nice hot lead in my pocket: what’s it worth to you? It depends on your business.”
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