Closing the loop

by Heidi Edelmuller

Unlike with a lot of traditional marketing methods, eMarketing’s success can be accurately tracked. This is one of the things I love about my job - It’s marketing with statistics. The creativity of above-the-line (well, sometimes) with the quantitative measurability of below-the-line.

The Quirk PPC team, for example, tracks everything that happens up until the conversion stage. We count how many times a PPC advert was seen, how many people clicked on it, how many of those people converted (by buying a product or filling in an inquiry form) and in some cases we even count the amount of money spent by each visitor.
Basically, from the moment a user types in a key phrase until the moment they

on the site, we gatherer, analyze, and feed back information into the system.

So, once the user has converted, the cycle is completed, and the job is done, right?
Wrong. Because, a conversion does not necessarily equal a sale. How many of those enquiries turned into sales? For how much? How many people cancelled? Why?

Very often these statistics are ignored, meaning the loop is not fully closed.

One of the biggest problems is that unfortunately online leads are not considered as urgent or important as a ringing phone or a customer at the front desk. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why – emails and database entries will sit quietly and patiently until someone finds the time to attend to them. But does that mean the customer on the other side is also waiting patiently? Consider how many online forms have you filled in and waited weeks for a reply.

A 2005 study by Knowledgestorm (registration required)  found that::

“The best time to contact a lead is the same day you receive it. A good marketing goal: Call every lead within four days…….Reaching a lead within four business days significantly increases the likelihood that this lead will become a sales prospect. After seven business days, lead responsiveness dropped 20%”

Emails also go a long was to convince people that they have been heard and will be taken care of. And when I say email, I am talking about more than just the obligatory automated confirmation emails (although you don’t always get those either). I’m not suggesting you spam your leads, but rather that you follow up with an email relevant to their needs. For example, if they have reserved accommodation through you site, how about sending them a list of top attractions for that destination or even some recommendations (this can also be a good opportunity for affiliate marketing if implemented correctly).

Finally, it is important to track what happens with each lead, and feed this information back into the system as quickly and efficiently as possible. Analyzing where drop off occurs and calculating your final ROI are vital to proper evaluation and overall campaign optimisation. Only when you have implemented these steps will you have fully closed the loop on online lead generation.

2007/03/28 | permalink | comments (1) | trackbacks (0)

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