Measuring Success in relation to your client’s Sales Cycle
An integral component of this program is how quickly the postcards arrive a visitor’s mailbox but depending on the product or service you offer, your full sales cycle will vary.

In some instances you can start to see online orders within a week of launching your program. For other programs it may take several months to realize the full value. Below are some general guidelines.

Setting performance goals
The launch strategy is largely influenced by the client’s website traffic. Smaller-trafficked sites might be focused on mailing to all of the opportunities. Larger-trafficked sites might mail to a smaller portion of visitors and focus on optimizing throughout the initial months; then, as results become clearer, ramp up to their full volume.

Likewise, a smaller business might simply need this channel to help get more sales overall, where a larger business could be looking to hit several KPI’s. It’s important to communicate the goals of this channel with your cl so they can help optimize your program.

Ecommerce:
Sites that sell items people buy frequently, and/or inexpensive items, typically see results the earliest. In general, you’ll want an attribution window of at least 30 days from when each card mailed out, or through the end of any promotional period, whichever is longer.

When items are in the $100 – $200 range and up, the consumers buying decision often starts to take little longer. And the higher priced the item is the longer that choice typically takes. For these, you will generally want at least a 60-day attribution period.

For more expensive and luxury items you buy online, you might want to wait for 90 to 120 days to better match the longer sales cycle.

Consumer and Business services:
The decision time frame on these can vary from days to a few months. These also rarely have online purchase options with means online conversion tracking may not be very helpful. For these types of businesses, a Matchback Service is essential for helping to measure the success of your program. We recommend running the first Match back after 75 days from your program start date.

Big purchases and certain services:
For things like automobiles, home buying, home remodel and mortgages, the buying cycle is often several months or more. In these scenarios the Matchback Service it critical in helping to determine impact of your program.

Seasonal purchases, event based programs, enrollment, annual renewals and other:
Some things may be harder to predict an attribution period for. Someone could be researching insurance options a couple months before their current policy expires. Or even several before they decide what school to enroll their preschooler in. Matchback is necessary for these as well.

Note: The online Conversion Metric automatically tracks for 60 days from when each card is sent out.