Improving Web Marketing Effectiveness

Introduction
Most organisations now have a well-established online presence and naturally they want to assess and improve its contribution to the business. Measuring and optimising a web site is not straightforward as is suggested by these quotes from the NetGenesis e-metrics report.

‘I think working with this volume of data is a bit like being in a canoe in front of a tidal wave – paddling like hell and just hoping it doesn’t overrun you’
Publishing Company

‘Right now there is a growing demand to the point where people are banging on the door so that business decisions can be made on fact rather than fiction’
Services Company

A 2000 survey from Accenture and Cranfield School of Management has also highlighted the difficulties facing marketing managers looking to introduce or improve such measurement systems. Managers were asked to name their priorities for improvements to e-business measurement systems.

For Bricks and mortar companies, developing or introducing a more comprehensive measurement system and enhancing analysis capabilities to establish what really drives business performance was most important.

For Clicks and Mortar, integrating new systems with legacy systems and benchmarking against best practice was most important.

Finally dot-coms were concerned with improving clickstream analysis and customer tracking and profiling and improving the entire company’s performance measurement system.

In this article and the next we will describe an approach for building an e-marketing measurement system that will overcome some of these problems. It can be suggested that the following are needed:

(1) An effective process for the performance measurement,
(2) A metrics framework that specifies groups of relevant metrics,
(3) Appropriate tools and techniques for collecting, analysing, disseminating and actioning results (this is covered in next month’s column).



1 The process for performance measurement
To find the best process for measuring and improving the web presence we need to understand the barriers to implementing an effective process. Those commonly encountered are:

• Senior management myopia – performance measurement not seen as a priority, not understood or is targeted at the wrong targets – reducing costs rather than improving performance.
• Unclear responsibilities for delivering and improving the measurement system
• Resourcing issues – lack of time (perhaps suggesting lack of staff motivation), the necessary technology and integrated systems
• Data problems – data overload or of poor quality, limited data for benchmarking

To avoid these pitfalls, a co-ordinated, structured measurement process is needed. Four stages are common to most measurement processes, but some are sometimes missed out due to other time pressures or unclear responsibilities. For each of the following stages, ask these questions. Do we have a person responsible for this? Do they have the skills? Does their manager review their performance? Are they supported by the right tools?

Stage 1 is a goal-setting stage where the aims of the measurement system are defined, this will usually takes the strategic e-marketing objectives as an input to the measurement system. The aim of the measurement system will be to assess whether these goals are achieved and specify corrective marketing actions to reduce variance between target and actual key performance indicators.

Stage 2, performance measurement, involves collecting data to determine the different metrics that are part of a measurement framework as discussed in the next section. Tools for collecting this data are discussed next month.

Stage 3, performance diagnosis is the analysis of results to understand the reasons for variance from objectives and selection of marketing solutions to reduce variance.

Stage 4, corrective action, is the implementation of these solutions as updates to web site content, design and associated marketing communications.

After stage 4, the continuous cycle repeats. As well as reviewing whether targets are met, the suitability of the metrics and targets should also be reviewed and revised.

2 The metrics framework
A metrics framework defines groupings of specific metrics used to assess e-marketing performance. It can be suggested that suitable measurement frameworks will fulfil these criteria. Check the measures you use against this list:
A. Includes macro-level metrics that assess whether strategic goals are achieved and indicate to what extent e-marketing contributes to the business (direct and indirect revenue contribution and return on investment).
B. Includes micro-level metrics that assess the effectiveness and efficiency of e-marketing tactics and implementation. Such measures are often referred to as performance drivers. E-marketing performance drivers help optimise e-marketing by attracting more site visitors and increasing conversion to desired marketing outcomes. Agrawal et al. (2001) recommend companies use metrics defined in three categories of attraction, conversion and retention as part of an e-performance scorecard using a combination of macro and micro-level metrics.
C. Assess the impact of e-marketing on the satisfaction, loyalty and contribution of key stakeholders (customers, but also investors, employees and partners).
D. Enables comparison of performance of different channels such as web against mail order.
E. Can be used to assess e-marketing performance against competitors.
F. Individual metrics follow the tried and test SMART guideline of Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant and Time-related. Reducing the range of possible metrics to key performance drivers is also highly desirable to avoid information overload.

In next month’s column, we look at specific metrics and the best techniques and tools for collecting, reporting and actioning.
Links
Adams, C. Kapashi, N., Neely, A. and Marr, B. (2000) Managing with measures. Measuring eBusiness Performance. Accenture White paper. Survey conducted in conjunction with Cranfield School of Management. Online at http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/cbp/managingwithmeasures.pdf.

Agrawal, V., Arjona, V. and Lemmens, R. (2001) E-performance: the path to rational exuberance. Mckinsey Quarterly, No 1. 31-43. Online at http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/.

Cutler, M. and Sterne, J. (2000) E-metrics. Business Metrics for the New Economy. Netgenesis White paper. Online at www.netgen.com/emetrics.

Marketing Insights (http://www.marketing-insights.co.uk/) details metrics that fulfil the criteria defined in section 2 of this article.
Comments on previous columns
Victoria Reed of the IChemE (Institution of Chemical Engineers) has kindly supplied these in-house guidelines on e-mail copy, a topic not covered in detail in the original article.

1. Choose your title carefully – it is the first thing a respondent sees. It must be informative and gripping – a juicy taster of what’s to come. Avoid exclamation marks and avoid words like ‘special offer’ and ‘free’ - they are overused and the respondent will simply think it’s an unsolicited advert and will be less likely to read it.

2. Avoid hyperbole in the text, again anything that sounds too much like an advert is more likely to be deleted, nobody likes to have adverts foisted on them in the inner sanctum of their inbox.

3. Ensure that your message is short and to the point. More specifically, try to ensure that your message fits into the Microsoft Outlook preview box.

4. Avoid sending information as an attachment. Firewalls will block it and your respondent will never see the message. An alternative to an attachment is to insert a URL leading to a web page with more information.

5. Enable the receiver to respond direct from the e-mail. For example, if the e-mail is about a conference, a link should be put in so respondents can register online. If it’s about a new product the link should take respondents to more detailed information showing a further link to buy online (an offline buying method should also be detailed for the faint hearted.) Unless a receiver can respond to information at the time it is given it is unlikely that they will do so at all. This is one of the few drawbacks of e-mail, it does not allow you to build up a brand or concept in the way that TV, billboards and radio do. E-mail is instant and, somewhat ironically, demands an immediate, instant response or none at all.

Next months column
In next month’s column, we explore the best tools and techniques for collecting, analysing, disseminating and actioning e-marketing results. There have been rapid changes over the last year in the power and accuracy of tools for analysing web site visitor data. We also update on current thinking on collecting primary data through online surveys and focus groups.