How,Measure,and,Improve,Site,S marketing How To Measure and Improve Site Success, Part 1: Pla

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Measuring and understanding your Web site's success is acritical process that is sometimes overlooked. Many times,marketing efforts stop at getting traffic to the site.Traffic alone, however, does not make a site successful. By"connecting the dots" between your marketing programs andend results, you can improve performance. Ultimately, sitesuccess depends on how well your site performs with respectto your goals. Measuring actual results against those goalstells you how well your site is succeeding.Have a PlanWhatever your Web site goals, a marketing plan helps youbetter meet them. By including two or three generalstrategies to meet each goal as well as *specific* programsunder each strategy, you are better able to evaluate andimprove upon performance.For example, let's say you make high quality, custom-madescarves and wish to sell them regionally:* A Web site goal could be to begin selling scarves onlineand achieve "x" amount of sales in the first six monthsonline.* One general strategy for meeting that goal could be to getthe site known locally by fashion conscious ladies in yourcommunity.* A specific program to support this strategy could be tohold a contest on your site, with the prize being a free,customized scarf. To promote the contest, you could issue apress release, which you send to fashion editors, etc.By taking this funnelled approach - planning down from thebroad goal to the specific program - you are better able toevaluate how well each program supports (or fails tosupport) your goals.From the start - when you are developing your plan anddeciding upon site structure - think about how to measureperformance. Measures will differ, depending upon thesituation, but should be both quantitative and meaningfulwith respect to helping you improve site performance. Choosea set of measurements that tell you not only how yourmarketing programs are working but also how well theysupport Web site goals.Evaluate Marketing ProgramsIn order to evaluate a marketing program's success, firstdecide your objectives. Then, most importantly, "connect thedots" between those objectives and your site goals. Later,when analyzing program results, evaluate not only whetherthe program succeeded in meeting objectives, but also howwell it moved your business toward its Web site goals.It is possible to meet a project objective while failingwith respect to site goals. A frequent example is trafficgeneration programs. I often read stories of a businessparticipating in "hit" programs with disappointing results.They reach "hit" objectives, but move closer to site goals.Consider Return on Investment (ROI)One way to evaluate marketing project results is through aReturn on Investment (ROI) analysis. The ROI is acomputation that tells you how much you got back compared towhat you put into a project. You can express ROI in terms ofa dollar amount or as a ratio. Either way, the formulaitself is simple.The dollar amount formula tells how much you increasedprofit 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 savingsand earnings as a result of a project". This is becausereturns from marketing investments are broader and oftenmore abstract than returns from some other types ofinvestments. Marketing investments result in not only directmonetary benefits, but also indirect benefits. To makematters even more difficult, the indirect benefits are oftenintangible and difficult (if not impossible) to measure.If you are part of a typical small business with limitedresources you may be in a seemingly no win situation.Accurately computing ROI requires a detailed analysis forwhich the internal resources and expertise are oftenlacking. Outside consultants can spend hours unearthing dataand computing an accurate ROI, but this can be expensive ona small budget.This does not mean, however, that you cannot make your besteffort and use ROI as only one of several inputs into yourproject evaluation. When figuring ROI and evaluating projectsuccess, keep in mind that each project will realizedifferent types of benefits. Aside from direct dollars costand direct dollars returned, consider other potentialproject benefits, including how well it supports your sitegoals. Other aspects to consider:Improved customer relationships.Happier customers can represent a return on investment. Thiscan be gauged through repeat order patterns, by a change inthe number of complaints/compliments, or through customersurveys comparing pre and post project satisfaction.Influence on off-line sales.Online activities often have an influence on off-linetransactions. You may experience sales leads originatingfrom your Internet programs. Customers may also be driven toyour off-line store as a result of online information.Brand building.Online activities can mean better long term growth for yourbrand. Market share changes, online interactions, and brandawareness surveys are some ways you can judge brand buildingeffects.Company growth potential.Factor in long term growth prospects when evaluating yourproject. For many businesses, the Internet provides accessto new markets and customers. If you have a local business,for example, your Web site could extend your business farbeyond the city limits.3 Step ApproachTake into account these broader implications, pay attentionto how well a program supports your site goals, and measureproject results. By taking this three pronged approach, youcan better choose marketing programs that will result in asuccessful site.In Part 2 of the Web Site Success Series, I look at severalWeb metrics, ways to measure and improve your site byunderstanding the data. Read "How To Measure and ImproveSite Success, Part 2: Evaluate Site Activity With WebMetrics" here:http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/Arts/WebMetrics.htmAbout the AuthorBobette Kyle is author of the Marketing Plan Guide "How MuchFor Just the Spider? Strategic Web Site Marketing for SmallBudget Businesses". Read more about the guide here:http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/book_information.htmCopyright 2003, Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved. Article Tags: Improve Site, Site Success, Success Part, Evaluate Marketing, Marketing Programs, Site Goals