ow do you evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing efforts? Do you measure call volume during a campaign, or do you focus on revenue growth? Are these accurate measures of success?

It depends. To be successful, a marketing campaign must help you reach predefined goals. These goals must be set according to a well thought-out plan. And the best way to prepare a plan is to address the following:

Background

Take a look at what's going on in your company and in the marketplace. Can you identify an unmet need for a product or service? Can you offer something that meets this newly identified need or something that meets an old need in a new or different way?

Don't skip this step. Don't trap yourself, as so many do, by assuming it's unnecessary because you already know the background. Clearly defining the state of the market is always helpful in providing a new look at the industry and where your company fits in.

Objectives

Once you've found an opening in the marketplace or determined how your product or service can be made to appear superior to the competition, you can start thinking about how you want to use that information. First, however, you need to set your objectives.

Do you expect this marketing effort to increase awareness of your company, product or service? Are you attempting to slow down attrition? Boost sales? Be clear about anything and everything you want your marketing investment to accomplish, and be realistic about how much of a difference marketing can make.

Target audience

Now that you know what you want or need to do, you have to get as clear as you can about the people who can make that happen.

To make marketing viable, find common denominators within your intended audience. For example, are they located in one geographic area? Are they the same height, gender or age? Do they enjoy the same things? What do they have in common?

Concept

Now, target your concept to your audience's specific needs. Understanding the needs of your target market is the first and most important step in getting any product or service successfully off the ground.

Channels

Once you've identified and researched your audience, you can easily determine how to reach them. Vehicles such as trade magazines, radio, direct mail and the Internet all offer opportunities to get your word out.

Timeline

One-shot marketing is not enough. Successfully getting your message noticed, attended to and remembered requires repetition. This doesn't mean you have to run the same ad in the same publication for a fixed number of issues. Time, money and human resources often require you to combine certain channels in various ways.

For some campaigns you need to repeat the same message through a variety of channels simultaneously; in other cases, it's best to spread the initial effort over a longer time.

Determining which way to go requires that you put yourself in the mindset of your target audience and envision how its members will respond to information. You must also be clear about how much you have to invest and what kind of return you need on your investment.

Budget

This is self-explanatory. And while this may seem obvious, base your budget on your expected ROI (return on investment). If the program you are marketing will not yield tremendous financial gain, either in the short- or long-term, then the program does not warrant extensive marketing investment.

By the same token, if a new product or service is expected to generate substantial income, then it is wise to invest considerably in making it a success.

Track results

You'll never know how successful a marketing campaign is unless you measure it. This brings us back to where we started. It's not entirely fruitless to run a marketing campaign you aren't measuring.

But if you don't measure it, then you aren't really getting your money's worth, and your next campaign will not be as successful as it could and should be. Measurement is easiest when there is a clear response vehicle incorporated into your marketing collateral. Direct mail pieces can have a business return card; ads can have a telephone number or Web site; e-mails can link to a Web site or landing page. When these response vehicles are used, they should be counted.

In other words, everyone who calls in response to a marketing piece should be logged, and this log should indicate what triggered the call.

You can use this record of information in two ways: to measure which marketing vehicle most effectively reached your audience (print versus e-mail versus ads, etc.) and to measure which products, programs or services generated the greatest response.

Keep the ball rolling

It's important to remember that marketing does not end when your ad is placed or your promotion piece is mailed. That's really just the beginning. Interest generated from marketing must be converted to sales. Marketing generates the leads; the rest of the office closes the deal.

So bring everyone on board when you launch a new marketing campaign. Let every employee know what message is going out, what channels are being used to communicate it and what response vehicle is attached to the message. Prepare a list of anticipated questions and appropriate answers for fielding calls from potential customers, and make sure everyone has a copy.

Plan ahead, measure and follow through. It's the best way to get the deal done, and the only way to make your marketing investments profitable.

Sam Neuman is the Communications Specialist of Cynergy Data, a merchant acquirer that distinguishes itself by relying on creativity and technology to maximize service. Cynergy offers its ISOs: VIMAS, a cutting edge back-office management software; Vimas Tracking, a ticketing system that makes responses to customers fast, accurate and efficient; Brand Central Station, a Web site of free marketing tools; plus state-of-the-art training, products, services and value-added programs, all designed to take its ISO partners from where they are to where they want to be. For more information on Cynergy e-mail Sam Neuman at samn@cynergydata.net .