How to Measure Print Marketing ROI: 3 Tracking Tips

How do you know whether your print marketing is working?

Whether you're investing in flyer printing, direct mail, brochures or printed promotional materials, measuring the results is essential to understanding what works, where your budget is going and how you can improve future campaigns.

Unlike digital advertising, where tracking links and website activity can provide immediate performance data, print marketing requires a little more planning. The good news? With the right tracking methods in place, you can measure the impact of your printed marketing materials and make more informed decisions about your marketing budget.

At Pink Print Solutions, we help businesses bring their marketing ideas to life through professional print and design. In this guide, we'll explain how to measure print marketing ROI and introduce three practical ways to track the performance of your next campaign.

Why is measuring print marketing ROI important?

Return on investment (ROI) helps you assess whether the results of a marketing campaign justify the money invested.

Measuring print marketing performance can help you identify which campaigns generate enquiries, attract website visitors or contribute to sales. It can also provide useful evidence when deciding how to allocate your future marketing budget.

Before launching a campaign, establish what success looks like. Are you aiming to generate new leads, increase sales, raise brand awareness or encourage people to visit your website?

Set a clear objective and decide which key performance indicators (KPIs) you'll use to measure progress. For example, a campaign designed to generate leads might measure enquiries and cost per lead, while a campaign focused on online sales might measure purchases and revenue.

Make your objectives specific and time-bound, and ensure they're realistic for your audience, budget and campaign.

How do you calculate marketing ROI?

A common way to calculate ROI is:

ROI (%) = (Return − Investment cost) ÷ Investment cost × 100

For a more meaningful assessment, use the profit attributable to your campaign as the return, rather than revenue alone, where that information is available.

For example, if a campaign costs £500 and generates £1,000 in attributable profit before marketing costs, the ROI is 100%.

Remember that print production is only one part of a campaign's cost. You may also need to account for design, postage, distribution, promotional offers and other expenses.

Attribution also has limitations: not every customer will scan a QR code or use a promotional code, and some people may encounter your printed materials before converting through another channel.

1. Use a unique landing page and QR code

One of the simplest ways to measure the online response to a print marketing campaign is to create a dedicated landing page.

A landing page is the webpage someone arrives at after following a particular link. For example, you could create a page specifically for a flyer distribution, direct mail campaign or product brochure.

Add a QR code to your printed materials that directs readers to that page. When someone scans the code, they can visit your website without manually typing a web address.

For more detailed campaign tracking, use a unique destination URL containing UTM parameters. These identify the source, medium and campaign associated with website traffic in Google Analytics 4 (GA4).

For example, a campaign URL could use the following parameters:

• utm_source=direct_mail

• utm_medium=print

• utm_campaign=autumn_campaign

  
  

Use the resulting URL as the destination for your QR code.

What should you measure?

Depending on your campaign objectives and tracking setup, useful metrics may include:

• QR code scans, using your QR code provider's reporting

• Website sessions attributed to the campaign

• Landing page visits

• Enquiries, form submissions or purchases

• Conversion rate and cost per conversion

  
  

Our tip: Give different print campaigns or distribution locations their own tracking links. This can help you compare their performance, rather than simply measuring all print-related website traffic together.

For example, if you're distributing flyers across two areas, separate QR codes can help you understand which distribution generated more tracked visits and enquiries.

2. Create a unique promotional code

Promotional codes offer another straightforward way to track responses to printed marketing materials.

You could include a unique discount code or special offer on a brochure, flyer, direct mail piece or event handout. When customers use that code to make a purchase, you can record the transaction against the relevant campaign.

For service-based businesses, a campaign-specific offer could also be used to identify enquiries or bookings generated by a printed promotion.

The important thing is to establish a consistent process for recording and reviewing code usage.

What should you measure?

• Number of promotional codes redeemed

• Sales or bookings associated with the code

• Average order value

• Cost of the offer and campaign

• Profit attributable to the resulting sales, where measurable

  
  

Our tip: Make the code easy to remember and clearly connect it to the campaign. If you're testing different offers, use separate codes so you can compare the results.

Keep in mind that a promotional code doesn't capture every response. Some customers may purchase without using it, so avoid treating code redemptions as a complete measure of campaign performance.

3. Use dedicated contact details

Not every print marketing campaign is designed to drive website traffic. Sometimes, the main objective is to generate telephone enquiries, quote requests or direct conversations with potential customers.

In these cases, using dedicated contact details can help you identify responses from specific campaigns.

For example, you could use a trackable telephone number on a direct mail campaign or a campaign-specific email address on a printed brochure. When an enquiry arrives through these channels, you can record it against the relevant campaign.

You don't necessarily need a complicated system. A simple enquiry log may be sufficient for a small campaign, while a larger business may benefit from call-tracking software or a CRM system.

What should you measure?

• Number of calls or emails received

• Number of qualified enquiries

• Quotes requested

• New customers acquired

• Cost per enquiry or new customer

• Sales and profit attributable to the campaign, where measurable

  
  

Our tip: Train anyone answering calls or managing enquiries to ask, where appropriate, how the customer heard about your business. This provides an additional source of information when tracking print marketing results.

How to choose the right print marketing tracking method

The best tracking method depends on what you're trying to achieve.

You can also combine these methods. For example, a printed brochure could include a QR code, a promotional offer and a dedicated contact number, giving customers several ways to respond.

Choose the methods that are practical for your business and relevant to your objectives.

Turn your print marketing results into better decisions

Tracking your campaign is only the first step. Once the results are available, review them against your original objectives.

Which materials generated the most enquiries? Which distribution areas performed best? Did the campaign produce enough sales or qualified leads to justify the investment?

Use what you learn to improve future campaigns. You might refine your messaging, adjust your distribution strategy, test a different offer or reconsider how your printed materials direct customers to take action.

Not every benefit of print marketing can be measured through a single link or code. Brand awareness, repeat exposure and the influence of print on later purchasing decisions may require additional research or customer feedback.

The aim is to build a clearer picture of how print contributes to your wider marketing strategy.

Looking for print marketing materials for your next campaign?

At Pink Print Solutions, we're a family-run print and design company based in Cannock, Staffordshire, helping businesses across Staffordshire, Birmingham and the wider West Midlands create professional printed marketing materials.

From brochure printing and marketing materials to flyers, leaflets and direct mail, we can help you find the right print solutions for your campaign.

With in-house design support and a wide range of printing options, we make it easier to bring your marketing materials together under one roof.

Planning your next marketing campaign? Get in touch with Pink Print Solutions to discuss your print and design requirements.