Where are your Leads Coming From?

Understanding where your business’s leads truly originate is crucial for optimizing your Northern California home improvement marketing efforts. While it might seem straightforward, the customer journey is often more complex than it appears at first glance.

For example, many homeowners begin their remodeling journey with a tangible touchpoint:

• A glossy magazine spread showcasing a stunning kitchen renovation, or

• A direct mail piece highlighting a local contractor's services.

However, their next step is frequently to visit the company's website for more detailed information. When they finally make that call, they might say they found the business "online," inadvertently masking the true origin of their interest. This print-to-digital pathway can lead to misattribution of lead sources, potentially undervaluing the impact of traditional advertising efforts.

Challenges in Accurate Attribution

1. Multi-Touch Journeys: Customers often interact with multiple marketing channels before making contact, making it difficult to attribute the lead to a single source.

2. Time Lag: There can be a significant delay between seeing an ad and making a call, further complicating tracking efforts.

3. Self-Reporting Inaccuracies: When asked, customers may not accurately recall or report all the touchpoints that influenced their decision to call.

Strategies for More Accurate Tracking

To get a clearer picture of where leads are really coming from, consider these approaches:

1. Call Tracking Numbers: Assign unique phone numbers to different print ads. TheHomeMag advertisements feature a complimentary & user-friendly dashboard that allows you to see & hear who’s calling these numbers. This allows you to directly attribute calls to specific campaigns, even if the customer visited your website before calling. However, keep in mind that they will still often visit your website online first, so these next two points can help this situation:

2. Train Your Team: Ensure your reception staff are trained to dive a little deeper when a customer says they found you online. They can ask questions like, "Did you happen to see any of our print ads before visiting our website?"

3. Unique Landing Pages: Create specific landing pages for each print campaign. Use custom URLs or QR codes in print ads that direct to these pages, allowing you to track which ads are driving traffic.

4. Integrated CRM Systems: Use customer relationship management (CRM) software that can track a lead's entire journey, from first touch to final conversion.

5. Multi-Touch Attribution: Implement a system that recognizes multiple touchpoints in a customer's journey, giving appropriate credit to both print and digital interactions.

6. Post-Project Surveys: Conduct surveys with completed projects to understand the full scope of their decision-making process, including all the ways they interacted with your brand before making contact.

By implementing these strategies, home improvement businesses can gain a more accurate picture of how various marketing efforts contribute to lead generation. This deeper understanding allows for more effective allocation of marketing budgets and the creation of integrated campaigns that recognize the complex, multi-channel nature of customer journeys in the home improvement sector.

Ready to unlock the true potential of your marketing efforts? Let TheHomeMag help you track and optimize every step of your customer’s journey. Our multi-channel marketing strategies and advanced tracking tools help to allow you to maximize your advertising budget and grow your business. Just fill out our quick form, send an email to NorCalMarketing@TheHomeMag.com or give us a call at (844) 550-5830. TheHomeMag is in business to grow your business!