Generate, Track, & Convert Mass Media Leads

Guest Blog by Ron Jumper

I see it time and time again…

Your local home improvement company decides they want to do a TV or Radio campaign.

They’ve reached that milestone in their business where they are attending all the shows & events in their market and have reached maximum spend levels on their digital marketing efforts. After conducting their due diligence, they’ve made the decision that Mass Media is the next large lead source to add to their marketing mix.

So far so good, right? Except far too often they fall in to the same traps that make the campaign ultimately unsuccessful.

We’ll circle back the media by itself later but first let’s focus on the creative, it tends to fall in to one of two formats:

Style #1 – The cheesy one with the Owner in the spot:

Style #2 – The glorified slide show with audio:

To save you some time, those TV commercials are not going to generate the results you are seeking but here are some best practices to consider before starting your next TV or Radio campaign:

1. How To Generate Mass Media Leads

Your goal is to generate LEADS! Yes… branding is important but stay focused. From a video production standpoint, this is referred to as Direct Response. It is also important to understand your media market’s size and, thus, the realistic minimum spend to start an advertising campaign. On the other end, to achieve and sustain optimal results you should also be aware of when your monthly spend or station frequency starts to have diminishing return.

Have you defined your lead goals and what your Lead Capacity is? In other words, if you have two sales reps that can run 10 leads/week (40/month) then you have a maximum monthly capacity of 80 leads. If last month you generated 55 leads, then you can run an additional 25 without needing an additional sales rep.

2. How To Convert Mass Media Leads

It is important to plan for success, in the event the ad does generate meaningful call volume then you need to be prepared. Here are a few things to consider:

• Have Key Personnel watch/listen/view the new Creative
• Revamp Inbound Call Scripts & In Home Sales to match Messaging
• Have the excess call volume rollover to an Answering Service

3. How To Track Mass Media Leads

I always find it interesting how often even the most fundamental best practices for tracking are not being implemented. I have a couple of basic tracking techniques then one more advanced method to help properly account for a blended marketing mix.

• Designate Unique Tracking Numbers By Source (Avoid Vanity Numbers)
• Have a “How Did You Hear About Us?” Drop Down on Website Forms
• List Mass Media Campaigns as Secondary Sources in CRM under Website/Internet

And there you have it, ladies and gentleman! If you are considering utilizing Mass Media (TV, Radio, & Print) or are advertising now without the desired results, implementing these best practices will give you an immediate boost.

Ron Jumper is the owner of The Apollo Agency, a Performance Marketing Agency dedicated exclusively to helping Replacement Contractors generate Leads for their local business. The Apollo Agency also develops national lead programs for dealer & franchise networks across the industry. To learn more, visit www.AgencyApollo.com for details.