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 PublishReview TestCorrect Publish When, who? How, who, what? How? How, who, what?

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?

StandardDetailsApplies to Site structureWill specify the main areas of the site, e.g. products, customer service, press releases, responsibilities Content developers NavigationMain menu on the left, home button must be accessible from everywhere Web site designer.webmaster usually achieve these through site templates Copy styleGeneral guidelines, product specifications, digestibility on screen Individual content developers Testing standardsCheck site functions for: Different browser types and versions Plug-ins, individual links Speed of download of graphics Spellcheck each page Web site designer/webmaster Corporate branding & graphic design Specifies the appearance of company logos and the colors and typefaces used to convey the brand message Web site designer/webmaster ProcessThe sequence of events for publishing a new page or updating an existing page all PerformanceAvailability and download speed figures Web site standards

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 web- users 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 – Analog: a freeware tool – Wusage – Andromedia – I/Pro site audit – Microsoft site analyst – Superstats; a basic web analyzer – Hitbox – NetOutcome –

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 MeasureMeasured through Enquiries or leadsNumber of online s Phone calls mentioning web site Faxed enquiries mentioning web site SalesOnline sales or sales in which customers state they found out about the product on the web site Conversion rateCan be calculated separately for customers who are registered online and those who are not Retention ratesIs the ‘churn’ of customers using the web site lower? Customer satisfaction Focus groups, questionnaires and interviews Mystery shoppers Brand enhancementFocus 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