Marketing Your Teen Program: The Importance of Tracking Inquiries

We're not making a shocking statement when we say that the ultimate measurement of your teen enrichment program’s marketing success is how many people have signed up. However, it’s just as important to understand where these sign-ups and leads are coming from by tracking inquiries. Were they referred by a program alumni? Did they find your program’s information on Google or social media? We could go on and on.

Knowing where your program attendees and leads are coming from is crucial to marketing success. Having the ability to track inquiries provides teen program marketers with insight into what marketing channels are working best to attract new leads. In this article, we’re taking a look at tracking inquiries, why it’s important, and how to do it. Let’s dive in!

Why You Should Be Tracking Inquiries

Tracking inquiries can be invaluable in deciding where your time and money are spent most effectively in order to get the most registrants for your program. While all marketing channels generate leads, it’s important to depict which of your marketing channels are most effective at converting leads into registrants. The best way to learn which channels bring forth the most registrations is to ask your current and former program participants where they heard about your program. 

By continuously tracking your inquiries — from leads and registrants — you can determine which leads are most qualified and likely to become registrants. For example, say that the majority of your current participants learned about your program through TeenLife. Based on the data, you can determine that the most qualified leads come from your TeenLife listing. From here, your sales team can prioritize their efforts to focus on these best-fit leads to gain greater program attendance. 

Refine Your Surveys for Optimal Tracking of Source Data

So how exactly should you go about tracking inquiries? Let’s take a look at a few of the best ways to track all inquiries, whether from leads or from current or past registrants.

Use Surveys to Obtain Inquiry Information

Generally, a post-experience satisfaction survey should include a section about where participants learned about your program. Additionally, asking potential registrants, or your leads, about where they heard about you can be immensely valuable as well. 

For example, asking “Where did you hear about us?” in a post-experience satisfaction survey or in a lead submission form is a super easy and effective way to track inquiries. You can have a drop-down menu listing all the possible places a lead could have heard about your program, such as:

• Social media channels — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.
• The website
• TeenLife
• Referral from alumni
• Google
• School counselor
• Other

In order to most effectively track your inquiries, begin by thinking about all the ways you actively promote your organization or program and list them. Then think about the indirect ways — from past participants, guidance counselors, etc. — and add them to your list. 

Include “Other” to Discover New Ways People Find Your Program 

Always be sure to include an option for "other" with the ability to fill in the blank. The possible ways people might hear about you are nearly endless, and including an open-ended option ensures that no information is lost. Even better, you can get an informed opinion about the options you should add next year.

Provide the Ability to Check Off More Than One Option

Then, make sure to allow your survey-takers to check off more than one option. A registrant may first have heard about your event from their parents but didn't take action until they saw your listing on TeenLife. Allowing your audience to check off more than one box ensures that you can gather all relevant information.

Improve Your Marketing Initiatives by Tracking Inquiries

Finally, use all the information and data collected to further improve upon your marketing initiatives. For instance, if you’re getting the most leads from TeenLife, you might want to consider upgrading your listing. Likewise, if you’re garnering zero leads from LinkedIn, either revamp your messaging or reallocate that spend in time and money elsewhere. 

Final Thoughts

In the end,  tracking inquiries is all about gathering as much information about your leads and registrants as possible. Then, you can use this information to better promote your program in the future, enabling your time and marketing dollars to be spent more efficiently and your program to be attended in greater numbers.

Curious to see how upgrading your listing on TeenLife can drive more leads to your teen enrichment program? Get in touch with us today!