How We Work : Blog

...Continued from part 3

Set the Right Targets and Measure Results

The Internet has allowed companies to move away from just marketing their best sellers through mass media to marketing their complete inventory online.  The attraction here is for marketers to take a broad-based approach.  However, while common standards for website performance are still being developed and click fraud still a thorny issue, marketers need to take steps to set objectives and track and measure the results for themselves.

Depending on the objectives, clear key performance indicators (KPIs) have to be set.  For example, if the objective is to build brand awareness, the KPIs should focus on page views and length of visit instead of number of registrations.  Setting clear objectives also prevents any misalignment of expectations. 

Especially in Asia, some marketers still perceive online marketing as ineffective – this often arises when clear objectives for the online element are not set or where it is difficult to track impact without introducing additional tools.  Research however has shown that Internet advertisements do have a positive impact on branding and sales – though it can be difficult to measure the latter except for pure online businesses.

The online advertising industry is slowly evolving, from cost per impression and cost per click, to pay per print (coupon) and cost per sale – the new models are increasingly transparent and performance-based.  Importantly, it is growing towards increased accountability, which will help marketers better evaluate their choices and allocate their budgets.

Tracking Campaigns and Leverage Best Practices

At a tactical level, marketers need to audit their campaigns and project execution to maximize resources.  Evaluate what worked and what did not, and leverage on best practices that might take longer to implement but which if invested in, could result in more satisfying long-term customer relationships.

Some general best practices include developing the discipline of creating relevant, targeted and compelling messages for each target audience; portraying a consistent image across multiple touch points and campaigns; providing multiple opportunities or outlets for user interaction and feedback (such as through the web, phone, etc.); and automated programs to nurture cold leads and inactive users.

Avoid Death Traps

Again, remember that the Web 2.0 user is a sophisticated being.  Do not be tempted to take the easy way out and adopt highly ineffective and yet strangely popular online marketing tactics:

·        Unsolicited and untargeted campaigns – companies purchase mass databases and send out unsolicited emails.  The potential recipient gets annoyed when asked for a receipt and receiving this spam on a daily and weekly basis builds a permanent negative image of the company.

·        Dirty search optimization tactics such as link farms (pages with multiple links but no real content), spam keywords (embedding keywords all over a page either in a background font or very small font), redirects (creating pages focused on a particular page but redirecting users to another page when they click on it), and malicious cloaking (users click on a link but very different content works along the same lines).

It is a new web world out there.  With consumers now being active participators, companies need to focus on building relationships with their customers versus employing short-term tactics.  With the measurability and targetability the web provides and is continuously improving on, marketers can expect more out of their online marketing dollars.

Earl

Excerpted from the November issue of AdAsia