For many entrepreneurs and small business owners, performance metrics can be a bit of detail that feels like it gets in the way. But, without metrics there is no way of knowing whether performance could be improved, repeated or discarded.
For the first time, including the internet in your marketing mix, measurement is easy and doesn’t need lots of technical experience.
Here are five easy performance metrics for measuring marketing activity:
1. Use Vanity URLs
These can be short urls used for specific reasons. You can buy short domain names for campaigns or add a short code after your normal name. eg www.HaveMoreClients.co.uk goes to the Facebook fan page of Have More Clients.
Alternatively there are the subscription based shorten url services where you can assign a URL and the service tracks the number of clicks and where they came from. There are several services – budurl.com, cli.gs and bit.ly
2. Web and Email Analytics
Google offers free web analytics where you can monitor every page as well as campaigns. There are other companies offering paid for analytics and you would be best to review the different offerings.
Also, by using a good email marketing system, you will also know who clicks on links and where they go. This information gives your sales team, whether that’s you or your marketing VA/assistant something very specific to contact that person about.
3. Brand Monitoring
Sign up for Google Alerts and add in the keywords you wish to have information on. It is a good idea to include your company name, the names of key staff members so you can be altered if something is going awry. Of, course then you need to take action – head in the sand is not the appropriate action ;)
4. Subscriptions to your Blog Feed, newsletter and downloads
If you have a blog, then linking the feed to Feedburner.com will mean people can subscribe to the blog and receive posts as they are published without ever going to the site.
Having subscriptions is just the start of the story, its monitoring what happens to these people as a result of your activity that is important. This is linked to Web Analytics by tracking the behaviour of people, your headings improve, the content improves and the calls to action has more action straight to the bottom line!
5. Asking People
This may seem a bit old fashioned and off the wall against the hi-tech solutions. But, the simplest methods can still be very effective. You can add a question to all the engagement points asking where they heard about you. This gives you feedback just which channel is working for you and which needs attention!
Adding a survey to encourage responses is helpful not only for the information gained, but it is an opportunity for your client and prospect list to engage – moving them from the passive to the active.
Once you have the measurements, set aside time to respond to this information; make changes to your marketing campaigns. Re-evaluate what is and isn’t working and improve. These techniques work whether you are tracking your social media, online activities as well as offline.
Karen Purves is a well known marketing expert with 30 years marketing experience and 20 with small business. She runs the successful, Have More Clients company providing training, mentoring and consultancy to small services business operating business to business. She regularly writes for the Marketing Donut blog and Commetrics.
Have More Clients is now offering Website Reviews to show business owners that websites should be profit centres and not a drain on resources. To book your review, call 01737 735400 or send an email to info@havemoreclients.com
