Measuring Marketing List Campaign Results

We've discussed marketing lists from several perspectives. Assuming that you've contacted a professional list broker, defined your marketing goals, and found the most appropriate lists, you're ready to begin your campaign.

The question you'll want to answer is this: "How well did that list perform for me?" There are several metrics you can use to answer that question.

Cost Per Lead

This is the most fundamental metric. Simply take your total campaign cost and divide it by the number of leads produced. However, there's a decision you'll need to make: Do you divide by the number of total leads or the number of qualified leads.

Then, how do you define a "qualified lead?"

If your campaign is designed to produce visits to your website, a qualified lead is a person who does exactly that. But what if your campaign is intended to have people download a coupon? Those who visited the coupon website would be considered among the "total leads," but only those who actually downloaded the coupon would count as "qualified leads."

Marketers, especially in B2B marketing, are often interested in the number of qualified leads because they are more likely to enter the sales pipeline and result in a sale. Focusing on qualified leads also gives your sales people more time to work with suspects who are likely to buy, rather than spending their time in low percentage cold-calling.

Other marketers may prefer to use the total number of leads. For example, if your campaign goal is simply to introduce a new product, it may be useful to know how many people expressed any level of interest.

Inquiry-to-Lead Conversion Ratio

The number of initial responses to your campaign can be compared to the number that become qualified leads. As above, your definition of "qualified" determines how you make this computation.

It is also important to note that a "lead" becomes more valuable as it moves closer to buying. Some marketers calculate the conversion ratio at several points along the sales pipeline. This closer examination can sometimes reveal trends.

For example, you might find that once an inquiry reaches a certain point in the sales cycle it is more likely to result in a sale. You could then adjust your sales process to drive more leads to that point in the cycle.

Lead-to-Sales Conversion Ratio

If your sales and marketing departments agree on the definition of a "qualified lead," this metric can be used to measure the effectiveness of the sales department. How many sales did they close among those qualified leads?

However, if agreement on the definition of "qualified" is missing, this metric is not very useful. The salespeople can argue that the campaign did not produce useful, qualified leads. So it's critical to reach that agreement before launching your campaign.

The metrics described here can help determine the effectiveness of the marketing list you ultimately choose and the campaign you decide to launch.

Make sure to check back for the final installment in the marketing list series: Marketing Lists for Closing More Consumer Business.