The Power of Measurement

Posted by Adam Peck on 25 March 2009 | 1 Comments

Tags: Branding, direct mail, metrics

These days, when every dollar counts, everyone is concerned with measuring success. “What response did we get?” “How did we increase sales?”
The key to good campaign measurement is to stay clear of useless success metrics that are vague and unfocused. “We want to generate a lot of qualified leads.” Of course!  Everyone wants leads and demand, but let’s get more specific… Here are some good examples of more focused success metrics:

1. Increase web traffic by 20% during the campaign
2. Generate 60 highly qualified leads by the end of 2Q
3. Improve benchmark email metrics by 10% (including open, click-through and registration form completion rates)

Gathering Intelligence
Before you can establish campaign measurements, you first need a disciplined approach for Intelligence Gathering. To gain a handle on suitable success metrics for a new campaign, begin by listing all campaign communication channels and their tracking mechanisms. For example:

• What outbound tactics are being used, such as advertising, direct mail, events, email or telemarketing?
• What inbound tactics are being used, such as Social Media or Search Engine Optimization?
• How are we tracking and measuring each channel?
• How can we determine what motivated a user action or response?

Accuracy
The devil is in the details. Good measurement allows for greater accountability and a truer understanding of what worked and what didn’t. For example:

• What search term drove this new lead to my website?
• What subject line for my e-newsletter drove the higher open rate?
• Which offer generated the most qualified opportunities?

Measurement in the digital age creates the opportunity for new kinds of metrics beyond pure lead generation.

• Brand building – demonstrating unique strengths and thought leadership.
• Relationship deepening – driving loyalty and retention/ongoing engagement.
• Market research – understanding what’s on customers’ minds.

There are certainly digital marketing measurement opportunities, however there are real measurement challenges as well. These challenges are well documented in this article from the McKinsey Quarterly.

The next time you launch a marketing communications plan, remember these steps:

1. THINK: Map out ALL key success metrics for the campaign.
2. INTEGRATE: Think through all possible response mechanisms and integrate them across the user experience and lead capture process.
3. SIMPLIFY: Centralize the reporting (consider implementing new tools to enable easy access to data).
4. REVIEW: Monitor success at key milestones.
5. ANALYZE: Assess what’s working and what’s not. Don’t be afraid to change quickly!
6. IMPROVE: Optimize whenever possible and redeploy. Continual improvement is today’s secret to success.