The other day, driving along I-95, I noticed a jewelry billboard. Young couple, nice ring, some hearts. It had a headline that said, “Love is in the air”. Nice enough, but I wondered who the advertiser was. I didn’t see a store name, a website, an address, nothing.

The next time I drove by, I looked for a store name. Lo and behold, there it was in dropout white type (on a gray background), small and off in a corner.

Why would anyone spend a ton of money on a billboard people can’t read?

And what ROI did they expect?

The ad looked okay, attractive even, but what good does that do when nobody knows who the advertiser is?

Lately, I’ve been paying more and more attention to this kind of thing- unaccountable marketing is a good way to describe it. Glamour magazine, has a lot of ads with no website, no phone number, no offer, and certainly no way to track results. Exposure is great, but how does anyone know if the investment was worthwhile? If you pulled the ad and saved the money, would it make a difference in sales?

Marketing should be about tracking results.

Unless the advertiser is extremely well known and has a gigantic budget, unaccountable marketing should not even exist. If you can’t track the results of your ad, then you should think twice before launching it.

Clients come to our agency, because they know that we are able to deliver results. It may take several tests of a marketing program before it becomes profitable, but in the end the client knows where their dollars have gone and their ROI.

Just like you keep your employees accountable; be sure to keep your marketing accountable, too.

Here are two things to remember about keeping your marketing “accountable”:

1. Try to track results. This can be so simple: It starts by engaging prospects then moving them to a landing page (or micro site). A specific phone number, email address, or QR code. That way you at least get some idea where your customers come from.

1. Creative is not everything. Yes, it’s great to have a cool looking ad, but it’s not the most important thing. If your customer can’t read it, it’s a wasted effort. Remember the 40-40-20 rule, a direct marketing principle that certainly applies here. Success is 40% offer, 40% list (or medium), and 20% is due to the creative. Our creative director tells me the real formula is 100-100-100. Everything has to be 100%.

If you have any thoughts on the subject, please comment below. I would be happy to hear what others have to say. Thanks!