Tracking the Intangibles
By: Jeremy Duimstra
In the previous two white papers, we talked about concrete, measurable ways to assess the impact of updating your company's information delivery systems — in other words, Return on Investment, or ROI. We covered Setting SMART Goals and measuring ROI associated with a wide range of Lead Generation tactics.
Now we will turn our attention to some of the hazier aspects of business that might not be quite so readily tracked as open rates, clickthroughs, and opt-ins. But these factors are no less deserving of careful attention and a commitment to track and realize real ROI.
Brand Building
The brand-building ROI from a web site, unfortunately, can’t be easily measured because of the complexities of branding. It is possible, however, to take a useful snapshot.
We've had success by conducting before-and-after research on a selected target group. Show them a list of companies, services, or products, and ask them a few questions about each.
- Do they see particular companies as favorable?
- Do they see a service as cutting-edge?
- How many people mention your company or service?
After your online branding efforts have accumulated a bit of time behind them, conduct the same research. You should be able to find out relatively quickly whether or not your program is working.
For further reading, I recommend "The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding" by Al Ries, Laura Ries
Lead Conversion and Sales
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, and the trouble is I don’t know which half.”
– John Wanamaker (1832 – 1922)
Hard to believe nowadays, but John Wanamaker’s Philadelphia and New York department stores were the first to offer fixed prices and a money-back guarantee. Wannamaker was also among the first to back up his organization with consistent advertising.
Obviously, tracking ROI is a very old problem.
The Internet has made the impact of advertising and marketing infinitely easier to track. And no other area has enjoyed the benefits of this impact than Lead Conversion and Sales.
There are many great software programs that track web traffic. All of them will give you accurate numbers of unique visitors, returning visitors, what pages they look at, what search engine they used, and many other things. The best tracking software will also give you information on your e-Commerce activities. The software will tell you what products are most popular, average amount of sales, what pages people are either buying (or not buying) from, and so on.
Tracking makes ROI readily apparent. Instant sales information can be measured against expenses for an accurate view of what marketing systems are working. For instance, if you are running a promotion online, you will be able to see whether or not it is affecting sales – immediately.
Some software can even tell you where on a specific form visitors become frustrated and leave. Obviously, this is powerful information—it shows you exactly what needs to be changed to close more sales.
If you would like more information or a recommendation for specific tracking software that suits your own unique needs, let us know.
Customer Service
The web has made customer service instant and constant.
Many web sites have made the frustrating experience of waiting on a phone, on hold obsolete (don't you just LOVE Muzak!).
The web has also made online bill-paying and account servicing easy. You can track packages that have been shipped. You can look at a history of prior purchases. Interaction with clients has truly evolved.
Live chat with customer service human beings (wow!) is becoming more common. Internet Protocol (IP) Telephony is being used by companies like Land’s End to connect you immediately to service representatives, using your computer's microphone and speakers.
One reliable measure of customer service ROI is loyalty — or, repeat business. Customers will not be inclined to come back if the service they receive is spotty. If you aren't getting many repeat sales, it might be time to ramp up your web site customer service offerings.
The other great way to measure Customer Service is by simply asking "How Are We Doing?" A simple web form can give you great information about your client base.
Market Research
Doing your own proprietary research allows you to do a very important thing on the web – gain trust. Doing the research yourself positions you as the expert in your industry. People will look to you for guidance and information. We recommend that our clients give away most, if not all, of this research on their web sites. This further enhances your image as an expert, and keeps people coming back to the site.
Some examples:
“A washingtonpost.com survey found that 77% of business decision-makers polled said the Web is the place they find out about new products and companies.”
And another:
“The business world is approaching the Internet existence threshold – when customers and partners will equate a firm with its Web site. Firms must overhaul site-building efforts for this complex and high-risk environment.”
- TechStrategy Report, October 2001 by John P. Dalton with David Truog, Hillary Drohan
Measuring the success of new research on a web site is simple. Once the information is posted, does site traffic swell? Do sales increase?
Summary
Those are some ideas to increase the return on your invested dollars in interactive marketing. The most important next step is to take these ideas and create a comprehensive marketing plan that utilizes each part. From that point you will be able to begin tracking each initiative to see what works for your specific case. Once you have identified that extremely valuable piece of information, you will be able to forecast additional sales increases due to increased dollars invested.