Aiming for Online ROI in a Down Economy
Corporate advertising and marketing spending is often a lagging indicator of the economy’s performance. While unemployment numbers are leveling off and the Dow Jones appears to be on the brink of stability, companies may still be slow to green light big expenditures in the near term.
Marketing departments are under more pressure than ever to drive sales, lower costs and grow revenue. And—no surprise—the projects with a low cost, quick turn and high ROI are the ones likely to pass the budget approval litmus test.
The good news is that there are myriad tools and strategies—such as mobile, organic site search, blogging, e-mail, Web analytics and social media—that can deliver quick results efficiently. The key is defining clear project goals and determining which combination of strategies will best help achieve those goals.
Go Mobile
More and more, consumers are using mobile devices to get information. This shift is resulting in a significant increase in the popularity of mobile Web applications. This tool translates into not only a new communications channel, but additional revenue and enhanced branding opportunities as well. Companies have access to customers during crucial times—when they are making purchasing decisions or when they are looking for product and service information.
Once a mobile site is created, it is critical to market the site’s availability. For example, one long-term hotel stay provider developed a mobile site targeting their business traveler clientele. To drive traffic to the site, a mobile media campaign was executed that leveraged both Google paid search and local sales network display ads. Targeting various geographical locations, the ads’ primary goals were to raise awareness of the site and increase mobile booking. By providing incentives for mobile booking, the campaign secured thousands of clicks, with a 1.65 percent click through rate, and significantly increased reservations through that channel.
Likewise, blogging can help drive traffic to sites as a means to increase revenue without incurring the costs typically associated with paid search and media campaigns. As readers become more engaged with content in the blogosphere, blogs are becoming a proven tool to help convert prospects into customers.
Leverage Relationships
E-mail marketing builds solid relationships with customers by keeping your brand top of mind. It also drives commerce and nurtures leads. while at the same time lowering marketing spends by eliminating or reducing direct mail pieces. Given contracted marketing budgets, a lot more companies are maximizing current e-mail campaigns and revisiting their existing e-mail strategies to improve relevancy and better target their respective customer bases.
Done correctly, social media also builds brand awareness and increases customer loyalty by engaging customers in a real and genuine way. Social media opens up the discussion about trends, products and services and, to that end, is a channel to build and leverage advocates. Once the relationship is developed, these advocates will be willing and eager to help spread the word about brands they like, and those they trust.
Measure Return
With these tactics in place, companies can then take a good look at the success of these tools to ensure that they are helping meet the predetermined goals. Web analytics will help provide this insight by providing an understanding of where visitors come from and how they interact with your site.
While marketers must demonstrate and prove return on investment in the short term, they also need to ensure that their marketing tactics and campaigns are part of the company’s long-term strategy. The key is building short-term revenue and market share through low-cost solutions that offer quick results yet build customer loyalty and positive brand awareness for the long-term.
Michael Kogon is CEO of Definition 6.
