Measure enquiries, not clicks: reporting for high-value brands
When a single client can be worth a whole season, a report full of clicks, impressions and followers says very little. What matters is who got in touch, by which route, and what came of it.
Why the usual reports mislead
Advertising platforms report what they can see: views, clicks, cost per click. For a hotel suite, a residence or a charter week, those numbers are a long way from the outcome. A campaign can win thousands of cheap clicks and no serious enquiries, while a small, precise one brings two conversations that become the year’s best clients.
Decide what counts as an enquiry
Agree on the actions that matter before the campaign begins. They are usually few: a completed contact form, an email or a call from the website, a booking request, a brochure requested with contact details. Count those, and only those, as conversions.
Follow the enquiry to the conversation
- Tag every campaign link clearly, so you know where each visitor came from.
- Record the source with each enquiry in the system the sales team uses.
- Once a month, mark which enquiries became a viewing, a booking or a signed contract.
- Compare channels by the conversations they produced, not by their clicks.
The last step needs a person, not a tool. A short monthly call between marketing and sales is often the most valuable report a brand can have.
Measure with consent
In Europe and many other markets, tracking needs the visitor’s permission. Ask for it clearly, load advertising tags only once it is given, and use the consent modes the platforms provide so their models can still estimate results. Expect some gaps in the numbers, and do not try to close them by collecting more than visitors agreed to.
A report worth reading
A useful monthly report fits on one page: enquiries by channel, cost per enquiry, what happened to last month’s enquiries, and one decision for the month ahead. If a report does not lead to a decision, it is decoration.
The studio plans and runs search and social campaigns that are measured by enquiries. See paid campaigns & social.
