For most companies, gone are the days of spending money just for the pleasure of seeing their name on TV or the Internet.

Most companies today are forced to insist on results. Yet on average, up to 80% of advertising is wasted because it doesn't work. If only you could know which of your campaigns make up the 20% that is making you all your money. If you knew that, you could stop wasting 80% of your advertising budget and put the money saved towards doubling up on the 20% of your advertising that is working.

But how can you know which of your advertising campaigns are working and which are failing?

The secret is in promotional products. I'm talking about pens, mugs, t-shirts, et cetera, imprinted with your company logo. These things hold the key to measuring the ROI of every marketing medium you are using. They keep all your other marketing honest.

Here is how it works:

Step 1: In every advertisement that you create, you must include an incentive for your customer to take action now in order to receive a free gift. Of course the free gift is a promotional product imprinted with your company logo. Each advertisement should offer a different free gift.

Step 2: When they respond to the ad or take whatever action you want them to take, they will also ask for their free gift. Depending on what gift they ask for, you will know which ad they are responding to.

Step 3: Calculate your ROI for each separate campaign.

Step 4: Stop running the campaigns that aren't working and increase your investment into the campaigns that are working.

If you response rates don't rise dramatically, this is a good indicator that your existing marketing isn't working as well as you thought.