I had an incredibly interesting conversation today about analytics. During the conversation, I began wondering how many other people shared similar views about Media and Marketing (and believe they should actually be capitalized). I've been in the Media business for lots of years and in that time, I've discovered lots of things that I believe others should be exposed to. If I'm full of it, I'm sure someone will say so. That's great considering the conversational nature of the Internet these days.
I have noticed the growing demand for better ROI. When I was selling billboards, the main request of customers was better proof that their advertising messages were being absorbed by the audience that was being exposed to their messages. The metric most useful is DEC or Daily Effective Circulation and here's the thing- it's a GREAT metric. The number of people who are able to see your message is a nice number especially when you compare the CPM to other forms of media. I recently discoverd the hard way that it's important for me to work for a company where the CEO and VP of Operations understands that CPM is actually cost per thousand- not cost per million. In fact, I think it's more important than ever for start ups from "tool" companies to ad networks- it's now possible to deal with people who understand marketing and advertising and still can figure out how to run a business.
So- from Out of Home to Interactive- each time, the need and the desire are the same. Customers what to know how much money their marketing and advertising is MAKING them. The kinds of numbers I get excited about is a 300% increase in SEO traffic from 3-6 months work. But even then, I have more questions to ask about the quality of that traffic. Hence the need for KPIs. Key performance indicators are still the key to proper 2.0 analytics.
If there's no ROI- I'm not interested. It's just that ROI is different for "every" customer. At least for now, that's true. There are lots of baselines (I DO like that word) and plenty of standards that most are interested in looking at. Uniques Users is a great number. But actually, it really isn't. A car dealer is far more interested in unique users than a dude selling widgets in Wichita.
Most metrics are variable as far as relevancy. For that reason, I believe in a properly defined KPI is the wonderful combination of good quality metrics implemented against other quality metrics which define the success of the company. From a quality perspective, you could liken this to an NPS score.
I just got a phone call from Payless Shoes from "Nikki" who was kind enough to tell me about a sale on some shoe line I've never heard of. I instantly know a few things about that marketing message before I do anything about it. I know that this was one of about 5 phone calls I've received on my home phone number this week. Since it's a Vonage account, I'm not paying a lot for it, but everyone that I really want to talk to already has my cell number. Only a few of my daughter's friends still call the home number- otherwise, it's Nikki from Payless Shoes. I also know that I actually LIKE it because it's not a TV ad. No offense to my friends in TV. Here's the rest of what I know. If I watched more TV, I probably would have known the brand name of shoes that Nikki wants me to buy.
Actually- I also know that it's likely that I'll fast forward the commercials on my DVR.
So if there is a "number," what does that have to do with art? Well it's just that it's not always apparent what a company's ROI is not to mention their KPI. There's certainly science, but there's also ART. I bought some light bulbs from a company that sells light bulbs and a bunch of other weird stuff called Modern Danish. I found some cheap light bulbs, but I have no intention of ever buying anything else from them. Their ROI was probably good for me, but my lifetime value is pretty low. However, and on the other hand, I went to Old Navy's web site from an E-mail I'd been receiving for three months and finally decided to click on. I surfed around all over the place. I seriously doubt GAP was able to watch me all the way around my experience, but I certainly was influenced over time. I bought three shirts because they promoted themselves across the site so well, I couldn't decide against it. It wasn't as much about how I got there, but what I was willing to do once I got there. There's an element of branding there. I trusted them from the beginning.
With a thorough understanding of the desired results, it's possible to understand the difference. After I bought three things online, I also visited the store because everything arrived as it was supposed to and I was exposed to additional advertising. Interactive marketing fits together with all real and pure marketing efforts but unfortunately, too few marketers really understand that. It's not all science...there's art there too.
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