Measuring Internet Marketing Effectiveness

Measuring Internet Marketing Effectiveness Week 12 Objectives • • • • The maintenance Process Measuring internet marketing effectiveness Measuring the flow effect Responsibilities in web site maintenance Web Document Review & Update Process Write Publish Review Test Correct Publish The Maintenance Process • Write – This stage involves writing the marketing copy, designing the layout of copy and associated images • Review – check for errors before document is published • Correct – updating results of stage 2 • Publish – putting the corrected copy on a web page that can be checked further • Test – final test is performed for technical issues • Publish – published to the main web site Updating Material • Within two days of a factual error being identified • A new ‘news’ item is added at least once a month • When product information has been static for two months Responsibilities in Web Site Maintenance • • • • • The questions to ask are: Who owns the process? Who owns the content? Who owns the format? Who owns the technology? Web site standards Standard Site structure Details Will specify the main areas of the site, e.g. products, customer service, press releases, responsibilities Main menu on the left, home button must be accessible from everywhere Applies to Content developers Navigation Web site designer.webmaster usually achieve these through site templates Individual content developers Web site designer/webmaster Copy style Testing standards General guidelines, product specifications, digestibility on screen Check site functions for: •Different browser types and versions •Plug-ins, individual links •Speed of download of graphics •Spellcheck each page Specifies the appearance of company logos and the colors and typefaces used to convey the brand message The sequence of events for publishing a new page or updating an existing page Availability and download speed figures Corporate branding & graphic design Process Performance Web site designer/webmaster all Measuring Internet Marketing Effectiveness • Are corporate objectives identified in the Internet marketing strategy being met? • Are marketing objectives defined in the internet marketing strategy and plan achieved? • Are marketing communications objectives identified in the internet marketing plan achieved? How effective are the different promotional techniques used to attract visitors to a site? Creating a Measurement Process • Highlighting the need for metrics • Identifying metrics (SMART) – – – – – Specific Measurable Actionable Relevant Timely • Introducing techniques to collect metrics and summarize results • Reviewing the metrics • Acting on the results Which Measures to Use • Level 1: Business effectiveness measures • Level 2: Marketing effectiveness measures • Level 3: Internet marketing effectiveness Level 1: Business Effectiveness Measures • • • • • Direct online contribution to revenue Indirect online contribution to revenue Profitability of web site Return on investment (ROI) Operational cost reductions Level 2: Marketing Effectiveness Measures • Customer acquisition or new leads generated by the web site • Sales generated directly and indirectly by the web site • Impact on market penetration and demand • Customer satisfaction and retention rates of clients who use the internet, compared with those who do not • Incremental or cross-sales achieved through the Internet • Impact of Internet on customer satisfaction, loyalty and brand Level 2 – internet sales • Internet sales as proportion of all sales made by company compared with sales by all companies operating in the market • Internet sales as a proportion of all internet sales for company Level 2 – Marketing costs • Reduction in cost of promotional material • Cost of acquiring a new customer • Cost of developing/supporting an existing customer relationship through time • Also some less tangible elements such as corporate image and brand enhancement • Building long-term client relationships and reducing ‘churn’ of customers Level 3: Internet Marketing Effectiveness • Capture – how effective are we in attracting customers to site using online and offline promotion methods • Content – how well are customers supported with information and ease of use through the content and design of the site • Customer orientation – does the content suit its target audience • Community and interactivity – how well are the customers’ needs as an individual met by providing community facilities and establishing an interactive dialogue Level 3 - Further Elements • Awareness efficiency – target web-users/all webusers • Locatability/attractability efficiency – number of individual visits/number of seekers • Contact efficiency – number of active visitors/number of visits • Conversion efficiency – number of purchases/number of active visits • Retention efficiency – number of repurchases/number of purchases Online Measurement Methods • • • • Online web metric and server log files Hits and page impressions (views) Site visits (user sessions) Web site auditors Log File Information • Page impressions for different parts of the site • Page impressions broken down by different time intervals • Page impression by domain • Page impression by browser type • Referring sites • Exit pages • Document trails • Average length of visit Tools for Measuring Web Site Performance • WebTrends – www.webtrends.com • Analog: a freeware tool – www.statslab.cam.ac.uk/~sret1/analog • Wusage – www.boutell.com/wusage • Andromedia – www.andromedia.com • I/Pro site audit – www.ipro.com • Microsoft site analyst – www.microsoft.com • Superstats; a basic web analyzer – www.superstats.com • Hitbox – www.hitbox.com • NetOutcome – www.redeye.com Measuring Individual Behavior • Registration – A suitable incentive – most customers will give information if they will receive something in return – A tacit agreement to enter into a medium to long term agreement with customer that he or she will enter the site again – Trust on the part of the customer, which will be based on his or her perception of a company’s brand and credibility • Cookies • Click-tracking Offline Methods of Metric Collection Measure Enquiries or leads Measured through Number of online e-mails Phone calls mentioning web site Faxed enquiries mentioning web site Online sales or sales in which customers state they found out about the product on the web site Can be calculated separately for customers who are registered online and those who are not Sales Conversion rate Retention rates Customer satisfaction Brand enhancement Is the ‘churn’ of customers using the web site lower? Focus groups, questionnaires and interviews Mystery shoppers Focus groups, surveys Evaluation of Promotional Methods • • • • • • • Unaware Aware Attitude Preference Intention Trial Repeat Communication Effects • How well does the page catch the reader’s attention? • How well does the page lead the reader to go further? • How effective is the particular appeal? • How well does the page suggest follow through or call to action? Customer Loyalty, Satisfaction and Brand Impact • Online questionnaires • Online focus groups