ProblemMeasurement
How do we know which marketing is working?
You do not need software to answer this. You need one question asked of every new customer, written down every time, and counted once a month.
To find out which marketing works, ask every new customer how they heard about you, write the answer down, and at the end of the month divide what each channel cost by the customers it brought. That gives a cost per customer for each channel. Keep the channels with the lowest cost, fix or drop the rest. For adverts, the platform's own report supplies the numbers.
What you see, and what it usually means
| What you see | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| You spend on several things at once | Without a record, the good ones and the bad ones look the same. |
| Sales went up and you do not know why | It cannot be repeated on purpose. |
| You judge adverts by likes | Likes are not customers. |
| An agency or a freelancer reports “reach” only | Reach is the start of the story, not the result. |
| You stopped something and sales fell | It was working, and nothing showed it. |
What you can do yourself
These cost nothing but time.
Ask every new customer one question
“How did you hear about us?” At the counter, on the phone, in the chat. Every time.
Write it down the same way
A tally sheet with the same headings each week: Facebook, Google, a friend, walked past, radio, other.
List what each channel cost
Money spent, and roughly the hours. Free channels still cost time.
Count at the end of the month
Customers per channel, then cost divided by customers. That is the cost per customer.
Give each advert its own code or number
A different WhatsApp greeting, a promo word or a separate link shows which advert a message came from.
Compare with what a customer is worth
If a customer spends N$400 on average and costs N$50 to win, the channel pays. If they cost N$500, it does not.
- You run paid adverts and nobody reads the reports.
- Enquiries arrive in several places and cannot be counted.
- You need to justify the spend to a board, a partner or a funder.
What we would do
Every campaign we run reports the same few numbers: what was spent, how many people saw the adverts, how many clicked, how many enquired and what each enquiry cost. We set up the tracking that makes those numbers true, and show you how to keep the tally for everything else.
Paid campaigns are planned from your budget, from N$1,499.99. You get a written plan before you pay, and the budget planner shows how any amount is divided.
Common questions
What is a good cost per customer?
One that is clearly below what the customer is worth to you. There is no general figure. A lodge can pay far more for a booking than a takeaway can pay for a meal.
Which numbers should I ignore?
Likes, followers and impressions on their own. They matter only as steps towards enquiries and sales. See how to read an advert report.
Do I need Google Analytics?
If you have a website and send adverts to it, yes, or you cannot see what visitors do. If you sell through WhatsApp and a shop, the tally sheet does the job.
Tell us your budget. We will send back a plan.
Say what you are marketing, who you want to reach and what you can spend. You get a written plan with the channels, the duration and a traffic target before you pay anything.