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Keeping Key Performance Indicators Tuned Into Internet Channel
By: Eric Dudley
As the number of online opportunities and competitors grow, more businesses are rethinking the way they measure the effectiveness of their online presence. Many multi-channel marketers rely on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to stay on target and help maximize bottom-line performance. Whether it?s monitoring the cost per new account (or lead) from a search engine marketing campaign, online sales, return on investment of advertising dollars spent, or visitors to your Web site, it is important that the KPI you use is measurable and is key to your channel's success.
It's never too late to maximize your Internet channel's performance. The key is staying tuned in to your KPIs. The following are three essential steps for effective use of KPIs:
(1) Define the Most Important KPIs for your Internet Channel.
Since KPIs may likely differ depending on your line of business, the key to being successful is deciding what the unique KPIs are for your company and Internet channel. This is why understanding the conversion points that lead to the desired result or goal is essential since your Internet channel's KPIs must reflect critical success factors. For example, to help generate new orders, you need to understand what your channel's inputs are and what conversions points lead up to a new order. Have a clear understanding of the decisions and steps your prospect takes along the path to complete an order. A paid ad on a search engine, an opt-in e-mail offer and an offline promotion are some examples of inputs from a call to action, which help determine your first conversion points.
The goals for a particular KPI may change as the organization?s goals change, or as it get closer to achieving a goal.
(2) Effectively Measure your KPIs.
After defining the most important KPIs for your Internet channel, the next step is tracking and measuring them. Many marketers whose goals include a customer acquisition will evaluate a cost per account (CPA) or cost per order (CPO) along with a volume (or number of new accounts/orders). Fortunately, the Internet has tracking capabilities that give marketers the data they need to be successful. By implementing a sophisticated Web analytics or tagging system, it?s easy to track your prospect?s path from start to finish. You?ll have a better understanding of the performance of your campaigns by evaluating the conversion points, such as e-mail, search, or a rich media buy.
(3) Challenge the Performance of Your Channel to Maximize Results.
Implement a system of checks and balances to ensure you are staying on top of your game. One of the best ways is to look at your channel from a competitor?s perspective. By taking the "champion vs. challenger" test scenario approach, the goal is to concentrate on a conversion point of a campaign and distinguish the call to action that performs superior to the others. For example, a paid search engine campaign will allow marketers to assess many sets of creative ads that are running for hundreds of keywords. Your ?champion? ads are those that perform better than all the others for their respective keywords.
So, how do you maximize the performance of your paid search campaign? Create a set of ?challenger? test ads that influence best practices and utilize the business intelligence you have gained from measuring your KPIs. Creating a parallel test of ?champion? and ?challenger? ads will allow you to determine whether or not the ?challenger? ads can surpass the performance of the ?champion? ads. Not only will regularly testing and challenging the performance of your campaigns keep you from getting complacent, but your KPIs will reflect your ability and success to remain on top of your game.
Eric Dudley is president of WebsiteBiz Founded in 1997, WebsiteBiz helps companies acquire new customers, enhance customer relationships and build brand awareness through search engine marketing, online media buying, email marketing, Web site effectiveness and performance analytics. Call 704-338-1794 or visit http://www.websitebiz.com for more information. |
