In most cases, an appropriate amount of time has not been allocated determining marketing goals. Instead, an absorbent amount of time was spent reviewing budgets, allocating resources, approving plans, building the right team, and .......... the list goes on. Without considering, "How do we know if we succeeded or failed?" There are six fundamental questions we always like to ask:
- Where are you going or what do you want to accomplish?
- Who is going with you or who is a part of the marketing campaign/strategy?
- Do you have the right tools in place?
- How long will it take to arrive or how long will the project take?
- How much will the trip cost or how much will the campaign/strategy cost?
- How do we know if we were successful?
Defining Your Business Goals
Now, let's put the six questions to the test. What do you want to accomplish? For our example, let's assume you want to know which traffic sources (paid, social, organic, referral, or email) have the highest conversion rate for completing a contact form. Understanding this metric will assist your management team in allocating company resources to marketing channels that produce the highest return on marketing dollars spent each day, week, month, and/or year.
Who is a part of the marketing campaign/strategy?
If you are like a lot of small businesses, you wear a lot of different hats and even more responsibility running the day-to-day operations. Rather you are a one-person shop or have 30 employees; you must determine the individuals responsible for seeing the project through to completion.
Do you have the right tools in place?
There are a variety of tools available to measure the effectiveness of your current website before you determine which traffic sources have the highest marketing return on investment. Google Analytics is a free tool that can help you understand what visitors are doing when they visit your website. One of our favorite features of Google Analytics is Goal Tracking. With Goal Tracking, you can quickly determine and manipulate the data to understand which traffic sources are producing the most contact form submissions.
How long will the project take?
Setting up Google Analytics is a pretty straightforward process and setting up the Goal Tracking takes very little time. Then, you must decide how much data you would like to collect to make an accurate assumption of the actions your website visitors are taking. Depending on the number of visitors your website has each month, will affect the length of time need to evaluate the data. Typically, 400 to 500 visitors or one to two months can provide a sufficient amount of information to make a decision.
How much will the campaign/strategy cost?
Setting up a Google Analytics account is Free! But, you may have to pay a small setup fee to your Webmaster or a digital marketing firm to install the code and setup the Goal Tracking. In this example, you should be able to stay under $500.
How do we know if we were successful?
Once you set up Google Analytics and Goal Tracking all you have to do is sit back and let Google collect the data. From the Goal Tracking report, you will know which traffic source(s) are producing the most contact form completions. Analyzing the different traffic sources, goal completions, and where you are spending your marketing dollars will assist you in defining where you can cut back or spend more converting website visitors.
Have a hard time setting goals and measuring their performance? Schedule a consultation to speak with me directly.
