If you’re using (or considering) direct mail marketing to acquire and retain customers for your roofing, windows, or siding business — tracking ROI accurately is critical.
Without clear data, it’s nearly impossible to optimize your budget or make confident, data-driven marketing decisions. Unfortunately, many contractors struggle to measure direct mail performance, leaving them guessing.
Here’s how not to track ROI — and the best method that works.
1. Why Call Tracking Falls Short
At first glance, using a unique phone number for each campaign seems like a good way to track responses. But here’s the catch:
Most prospects don’t immediately call the number printed on your mailer. Instead, they’ll:
- Google your business
- Read online reviews
- Visit your website
When that happens, your tracking number gets bypassed — and the mailer gets zero credit.
Quick Tip: Call tracking is still useful for listening to conversations and evaluating call quality. But it should never be your primary method for ROI tracking.
2. QR Codes Are Great — But Limited
We do recommend including QR codes on your mailers — especially to promote online scheduling. It creates a sense of convenience and makes it easy for customers to book appointments.
However, QR codes only show you how many scans occurred. They don’t provide full transactional data — and don’t link back to revenue.
3. Relying on Customers to Tell You Isn’t Reliable
Even if you ask every single customer how they heard about you, you’ll often get inaccurate or incomplete responses.
Why? Because customers are exposed to your brand in many ways:
- A yard sign
- A neighbor’s referral
- A billboard or truck wrap
- A direct mail piece
- Your online reviews
- And more
Most customers will only mention the first thing that comes to mind — not the full journey. This leads to misleading or overly simplified attribution.
The Best Way to Track ROI: Matchback Reporting
Here’s the good news: there’s a simple, accurate, and proven way to track direct mail ROI — it’s called a Matchback Report.
How it works:
- You send direct mail to a list of targeted homeowners.
- When a prospect contacts you and schedules an estimate, you collect their address.
- A Matchback Report compares the list of mail recipients to your list of new customers.
If there’s a match — Bingo, you can attribute that customer to your direct mail campaign.
What a Matchback Report Tells You (and Doesn’t)
What it shows:
- Which customers received and were influenced from your direct mail campaign
- True return on investment (ROI)
What it doesn’t show:
- Leads who contacted you but didn’t convert
- Appointments that didn’t result in sales
So while it won’t capture response rate, it does give you the most accurate ROI data possible. What’s even more helpful is that with many of our powerful integrations into CRMs like ServiceTitan, we’re able to provide this data seamlessly — automatically reporting it daily in our proprietary ROI dashboard.
Final Thought
Direct mail is a powerful tool for your roofing, windows, or siding business — but only if you can measure its impact.
Matchback Reporting is the gold standard for ROI tracking. It’s simple, reliable, and based on actual customer conversion data — not guesswork.
Ready to stop guessing and start measuring?
Contact one of our direct mail experts today to learn how Matchback Reporting and address-based campaigns can help your business grow.
No pressure. Just proven strategies and clear ROI.
— Josh Davis