CPL can be relatively easy to measure across all media if you take time to plan and implement your campaigns.

Convincing media to accept CPL is of course another issue and somewhat off topic. Let me just say that it can be done if you negotiate a deal that has mutual rewards.

Back to CPL Marketing:

Getting administratively allocated 1300 numbers, via one of the many local telco resellers, is the first step. These numbers are then used in your advertising to determine which media generated the call. There is also a whole heap of business Intelligence that comes from using a system like this which can then be applied to future campaigns. Next step is to hook up with a reporting system that allows you to measure calls and gather intelligence from each of the different media in your campaigns.

Again there are a number of organisations providing these services at affordable rates.

There are other methods of measurement and interaction with customers that can also be applied once you have 1300 numbers working for you. SMS response to 13/1300, which is now available on Telstra, Optus and Virgin networks (and hopefully Voda and Three in the not too distant future), opens up a myriad of interactive measurable marketing opportunities across all media.

SME’s, now more than ever before, have greater flexibility for their marketing mix and excellent opportunities to investigate media, in addition to Google Adwords, Yellow Pages, True Local etc, that in the past were likely out of reach. As I mentioned, in an earlier post, we are a small business within a niche market, which has a prospective audience defined very much by location. Using the above methods allows us more opportunities to run very measurable campaigns in a myriad of media that in the past we would have never considered due to cost.

As small business owners we have to constantly challenge our thinking when marketing for new business and interacting with existing customers. Even Google, which offers an easily measureable form of marketing, is very quickly pricing itself out of reach for many businesses.

Bid prices for specific keywords in some industries have risen dramatically over recent years. Unfortunately many of these keywords are becoming unrealistically priced due to ‘directories’ and other organisations, which have no relationship to the keyword, bidding and forcing the prices up. These organisation are attempting to get users over to their websites to “search again” thereby lifting their visitor numbers which has a direct impact on their advertising revenue. The merry-go-round suits Google and the website owners as they both achieve a monetary outcome. It doesn’t necessarily suit the user and it certainly doesn’t help the smaller Adword advertisers.

You don’t have to spend too much time on Google and other search engines to realise that often, there is a whole lot of rubbish to wade through before you actually find what you need after hitting search.

Which is why we’ve adopted the cost per lead model.

One of the biggest problems with the cost per lead model is that in many businesses it is difficult to track where your customers are coming from. And on Sensis, infome and TrueLocal’s side it is also difficult to track how many leads were generated. This is why CPL is difficult to implement.

What is interesting is that other media will consider measureable models. We have had approaches, in recent times, from Radio and Magazine Publishers, who, when pushed, will provide distressed advertising on a CPL basis. No lead no cost marketing opens up opportunities for all stakeholders. The media is going to air or publishing anyway. Better to have an advertiser, willing to pay for leads rather than no one at all, when there are still spots to fill at deadline.