| |
|
|
| Webmaster Resources: Site Promotion Information | |
|
|
|
Planning and Evaluating Marketing Programs
Measuring and understanding your Website's success is a critical process that is sometimes overlooked. Many times, marketing efforts stop at getting traffic to the site. The next step is to evaluate results. By "connecting the dots" between your marketing programs and end results, you can improve performance. Ultimately, site success depends on how well your site performs with respect to your goals. Measuring actual results against those goals tells you how well your site is succeeding. Improving results means not only measuring the results themselves but also measuring, understanding, and adjusting the events that lead to those results. Further, having a marketing plan that identifies general strategies and specific programs for meeting your site goals will give you a higher baseline performance to work with when improving upon your site's success. Have a PlanWhatever your Website goals, a marketing plan helps you meet them. By including two or three general strategies to meet each goal as well as specific programs under each strategy, you are better able to evaluate and improve performance. For example, let's say you make high quality, custom-made scarves and wish to sell them regionally: -- A Website goal could be to begin selling scarves online and achieve "x" amount of sales in the first six months online. -- One general strategy for meeting that goal could be to get the site known locally by fashion conscious ladies in your community. -- A specific program to support this strategy could be to hold a contest on your site, with the prize being a free, customized scarf. To promote the contest, you could issue a press release, which you send to fashion editors, etc. By taking this funneled approach - planning down from the broad goal to the specific marketing program - you are better able to evaluate how well each program supports (or fails to support) your goals. From the start - when you are developing your plan and deciding site structure - think about how to measure performance. Measures will differ, depending upon the situation, but should be both quantitative and meaningful with respect to helping you improve site performance. Choose a set of measurements that will tell you not only how your marketing programs are working, but also how well they support Website goals. Evaluate Marketing ProgramsTo evaluate a marketing program's success, decide your objectives first. You can then "connect the dots" between those objectives and your site goals. Later, when analyzing program results, evaluate not only whether the program succeeded in meeting objectives, but also how well it moved your business toward its Website goals. It is possible to meet an objective for the marketing program while failing to support site goals. Many traffic generation programs serve as an example. Businesses will often participate in "hit" programs with disappointing results. They reach "hit" objectives, but move no closer to site goals. Consider Return on Investment (ROI)One way to evaluate marketing program results is through Return on Investment (ROI) analysis. ROI is a computation that tells you how much you received compared to what you put into a project. You can express ROI in terms of a dollar amount or as a ratio. Either way, the formula itself is simple. The dollar amount formula tells how much you increased profit in total dollars as a result of the project: (Cost savings and earnings as a result of the project) minus (Dollars invested) The ratio formula tells how much you got back, in dollars, for each dollar you invested in a project: (Cost savings and earnings as a result of the project) divided by (Dollars Invested) IMHO, things get sticky when you try to define "cost savings and earnings as a result of a project." This is because returns from marketing investments are broader and often more abstract than returns from some other types of investments. Marketing investments have not only direct monetary benefits, but indirect benefits as well. These indirect benefits are often intangible and difficult (if not impossible) to measure directly. If you are part of a typical small business with limited resources it may feel like you are in a no win situation. Accurately computing ROI requires a detailed analysis for which the internal resources and expertise are often lacking. Outside consultants can spend hours unearthing data and computing an accurate ROI, but this can be expensive on a small budget. This does not mean, however, that you cannot use ROI as one of several inputs into program evaluation. When figuring ROI and evaluating marketing program success, keep in mind that each project will realize different types of benefits. Aside from direct dollars cost and direct dollars returned, consider other potential project benefits, including how well it supports your site goals. Other aspects to consider: Improved customer relationships. Happier customers can represent a return on investment. This can be gauged through repeat order patterns, by a change in the number of complaints/compliments, or through customer surveys comparing pre- and post-project satisfaction. Influence on offline sales. Online activities often have an influence on offline transactions. You may experience sales leads originating from your Internet programs, for example. Customers may also be driven to your offline store as a result of online information. Brand building. Online activities can mean better long term growth for your brand. Market share changes, online interactions, and brand awareness surveys are some ways you can judge brand building effects. Company growth potential. Factor in long term growth prospects when evaluating your project. For many businesses, the Internet provides access to new markets and customers. If you have a local business, for example, your Website could extend your business far beyond the city limits. Take into account these broader implications, pay attention to how well a marketing program supports your site goals, and measure program results. By taking this three pronged approach, you can better choose marketing programs with positive results. About the AuthorBobette Kyle draws upon 12+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, Marketing MBA, and online marketing research in her writing. Bobette is proprietor of the Web Site Marketing Plan Network, http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com, and author of the marketing plan and Web promotion book "How Much For Just the Spider? Strategic Website Marketing For Small Budget Business." ( HowMuchForSpider.com/TOC.htm )
Add to these social bookmarking sites: 
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Best Way To Promote Your Website Everyone would like an increase in traffic to their website or an increase in their PR rating. There are many companies and websites offering promotion and optimisation services, however how much should you spend?I have found two ways; which have had a huge impact in the amount of visitors I have to my websites and of which has pushed up the PR ratings of my sites. How to Make Your Website Sticky! Five Nifty Ways to Make Your Site Sticky!'Stickiness' is one of the most overlooked aspects of site promotion. Webmasters, jump thru hoops to optimize their sites for the search engines, work like mad to find the right keywords, and double over backwards to build links. Not Common But Effective Free Marketing We all know the many "free" traffic producing avenues. We all know about free classified ads, traffic exchanges, web site submitters, banner exchanges, link exchanges, but how many of you have ever thought of this FREE traffic avenue! In the past I have tried, I think, every free method of advertising, and have also had some success with the variety of free advertising resources. Keeping Focused: Marketing Your Site During a Tough Tourist Economy In the current competitive climate, tourism-dependant businesses in Coastal Maine are looking for every possible edge to set themselves above their competition. The internet has quickly become the ubiquitous marketing venue for tourism and travel, and our local businesses have jumped into this venue with both feet forward. The Basics Of Free Web Site Promotion It's easy to forget the fundamental components of Web site promotion. Winding back the clock to the days when many Webmasters couldn't afford prolonged advertising campaigns, the majority of people starting out with a new Web site were forced to discover the art of free Web site promotion. Google Gives Web Page History More Importance The Google patent application submitted in March, 2005 has generated a good deal of debate among search engine optimization experts. The patent document contains many general suggestions about the direction Google wants to move their search criteria and ranking techniques in the near future. Advertising Sucks! Long Live The Web! How much does an advert in Yellow Pages cost? How many enquiries would you expect to get back for that investment each day? 1? 10? 100?What about an ad in the local newspaper or a trade publication? They don't come cheap. When was the last time you heard an advertising salesman say:"If you're not happy with the volume of responses and sales you get from the ad I will give you your money back. The Reality of Linking On a regular basis I receive e-mail through all my various sites from other site owners offering to exchange links. Most approach me in the wrong manner and I can tell they have no idea about the proper way to run an effective linking program. Power Training for your website You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. Power Training for your Website - Build that traffic By Marc Lindsay We all know what it is like to get in the gym and do a darn good workout don't we?? It feels exhilarating and you walk away with a sense of achievement and that you have done something right to your body Well I was in the gym the other day doing the strength component of my training and I it made me question myself. DMOZ Editors - Does Absolute Power Corrupt Absolutely? DMOZ editors are supposed to be professionals in the category that they choose to edit and review. They are also supposed to have high standards when it comes to giving the general public quality websites with content that pertains to the category in which they are editing. Free Tee Shirt Sorry, there's not really a free tee here, but isn't it amazing how those 3 little words really grab your attention.You may have designed your web site to express yourself on the web, or like most of us, you are hoping to earn a little extra cash; but how do you get your new baby site out there and get it noticed? you do after all want to get some visitors,. Website Promotion: 10 Power Secrets To Keep Your Profits Rolling Here are 10 power secrets to help your website promotion and keep your profit rolling:1. Give people a free online utility. Internet Advertising Solutions: 10 Things To Barter For, Before Buying Before you spend your hard earned money, why not first try to exchange the products and services you have for the products and services that you need?Here are a few internet advertising solutions and ideas:1. Information Products - it could be ebooks, "how to" videos, cassettes, magazines, newsletters, paid e-zines, courses, etc. Hit the Target with Bullseye Marketing Let's see here.. Online Advertising: 10 Smart Ways To Increase The Perceived Value Of Your Product If you have a website promoting any product or service, you can generate more sales by increasing its perceived value.Here are a few smart ways to do that:1. I Need Real Visitors, NOT Search Spiders! The answer to the first question is simple, the difference between spiders and visitors is dollars. Good old fashion sales, cha ching! ring the cash register. Make Sure The World Sees Your Website You have spent hours creating a HTML masterpiece, you have posted it to your web host and showed your friends and family your work of art. As much as your friends and family love your new website your site will not be pulling in any profits for you unless the rest of the internet world knows it even exists. Can What You Dont Know About Web Analytics Hurt Your Site? Yes is an Understatement! Web analytics. Don't worry, it's not as boring as it sounds. Power Linking 2005 Redefines Web Site Promotion Web site owners are realizing Jack Humphrey's Power Linking isn't just another typical traffic generating program or another seo software application. Unlike most courses that are written in 3 days, Power linking is the culmination of 3 years of the best practices, honest, proven, tested strategies, & hard core results for thousands of customers worldwide. Whats The First Thing Your Prospects See When They Visit Your Website? I just reviewed a new website and I'm in shock. Or, maybe, I'm just depressed about my failure to convince people to do what I tell them so they can make money.
|
| Home | Site Map |
|
| © 2006 | |