Now, there are many metrics with which to measure the success of any given marketing campaign. For that reason, we can't give you a generalised blow-by-blow method for doing so, but we can give you some ideas about the type of thing you might want to consider.

First off, decide what your metric is going to be before you start the campaign and make sure you know how it's going to be assessed. If the aim is to drive more traffic to your website, for example, then make sure you have the relevant analytics in place to measure and use that data. And then remember to judge the success of your campaign on that basis. If your leaflet succeeds in driving traffic to your website, but then that doesn't convert into sales, recognise that the issue is more likely to be in the website than the leaflet!

Also, it's important to compare like with like. If you often run similar campaigns then record the same metrics and the same data each time so you can spot trends. That doesn't mean you can't improve your data collection and gather more each time you run a campaign, but being able to track changes gives you a great opportunity to plot and even predict shifts that are happening in your market and potentially prepare for and capitalise on them. So, make sure you know what data you're going to need to assess the effectiveness of your campaign and compare it to others or to benchmark results you've established. After all, you may know that, say, fifty thousand leaflets were delivered to particular areas, but do you need systems in place to find out what people actually thought about your leaflet or how many subsequent customers were attracted by it. Perhaps it includes a voucher or other promotion so you can track its efficacy that way.

Gathering this information means that you can adapt and evolve with your audience, avoiding or correcting any missteps quickly and smoothly, and ensure that every campaign delivers.