How important is to to know where your customers are coming from?

When you buy something from someone online or in a retail store, many times you are asked:  "How did you find us?"

How important is that question?

Knowing where your visitors are coming from is important, if:
• you are spending money on marketing and you need to understand if your dollars are being well spent
• you are doing offline marketing (events, brochures, media) and you want to know if your time is well spent
• you are doing internet marketing (website, blog, social media) and you want to know if your money and time are well spent.
•  you need to know if your ezine is being read
• you want to know if current customers like you and your service so well, that they are referring to you.

There are many reasons to know where your customers are coming from. The most important reason is so you know how your efforts are helping your bottom line profits.

For online analytics we find that the free Google Analytics are still the best. You can use the simple basic report to find out where your traffic is coming from, which pages and content are the most popular; or use the advanced settings to set goals, track custom campaigns, include/exclude certain areas, pages or content and  check your SEO.

Collecting traffic data and providing detailed reports should be part of the services you receive from your webmaster.  If you aren't getting these, ASK. If you still aren't getting them, then you might consider working with someone who will provide you the feedback you deserve.

Whether it's simply asking your callers and visitors where they came from, or using the free technology tools, it is important to analyze your results to make sure your time and dollars are being well spent.