The cost-effectiveness of your marketing material depends on two main factors: cost and effectiveness. Your printing estimates should reflect the potential value you will get from having your marketing materials printed and your campaign implemented. But whereas price is objective and easy to identify, the results, value, or effectiveness of these prints are more complicated to quantify.

Every marketing material has its own strengths and weaknesses. Identifying a proper combination though requires experience and testing. You can use the following metrics to determine their effectiveness.

1. Impressions

This measure is usually associated with outdoor advertisements that rely on a steady stream of traffic to advertise. Impressions are simply the amount of people who see your advertisement even if for a few seconds at a time.

The value of impressions grew more popular with the idea of psychoanalysis and the power of subliminal messages. Its premise says that with repetitive impression of your products, the customer will create unconscious associations with the products. At the least, multiple impressions are hoped to aid in name recall.

2. Readability

Unlike impressions that appeal to the subconscious, readability appeals to logic. Those ads that are content heavy relies on a conscious decision to buy products. The content is there to present the customer with the offer. To be effective though, the customer must read these ads.

Postcards for instance score high on readability as it can be mailed without the envelope. Customers simply pick them up, and with the easy to read format can be read through in a matter of seconds. Using readability as a measure of effectiveness, postcards score high as both cheap and effective.

Readability though seldom translates to action. A customer may read the entire text but still be left unconvinced of the ad or simply find no need for the product on offer. In this scenario, the effectiveness of your ad needs a better measure than simple readability.

3. Response Rate

This measures the number of people who take action as a result of reading your ads. It can be in the form of a phone inquiry, through the website, or even increase foot traffic in your store. As this is action based, it is easier to study than readability and has more potential to make the sale. Response rates though still doesn't measure the amount of sales your prints encourage.

4. Conversion to Sales

This refers to the actual sales your prints encourage. It can be tracked from coupons, promos, or surveys. Because your ads aim to boost sales, studying the conversion to sales is a good way to measure the effectiveness of your print.

5. Aggregate Sales

Business though is more than just one-time sales or an occasional sales boost. It's about building long-term relationships that is accomplished with a transmission of values. Aggregate sales are the future higher earnings your prints potentially offer. When looking into your printing estimates, you can consider aggregate sales as premium value for which you should be willing to pay a higher price.