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Online marketing offers the distinct advantage of delivery to specific target audiences, while providing measurable, real-time data on audience delivery, preferences and behavior. Companies looking to maximize their return-on-investment are finding that targeted online marketing programs can be demonstrably more cost effective by reaching an audience specifically interested in their message. This directly impacts message recognition as well as qualified lead generation.Additionally, when an online marketing program is run in connection with specific Web content (i.e. special campaign landing pages, incentive offers or opt-ins) or within pages of a content management system (CMS) framework, extremely valuable preference and behavior information can become available for close examination. Problem is, it can be very difficult assembling that data in a meaningful, contextual way; particularly when most CMS systems do not do a good job of tracking and reporting user data in a useful way.

Web traffic and user behavior data, with no relevant association to marketing campaigns, program budgets, customer incentives, user profiles, landing pages or site content provide little if no helpful insight concerning media drivers, customers, sales conversions or user preferences. The increasing complexity of Web metrics applications and the lack of correlated metric data results in little useful business knowledge available for corrective action and justification for marketing investments.

What is necessary is the elimination of the business constraints where marketing decisions and accountability are based on anecdotal observations (general traffic data or audience estimates), culminating in frustration, lost opportunity, wated investments and low customer satisfaction.

Next time we’ll look at the value of the sales funnel, how it can show you important data about audience flow or erosion points, and why every marketing manager should have one.

Agree? Disagree? Have a success story? Have a question? Share it with me at: bob_chernet@viewmark.com

View a complete list of Bob’s Marketing Insights articles.

© 2007 Bob Chernet
Reproduction in any manner is unlawful, without the written permission of the author.

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Sounds like a mouthful. But wait! This is good stuff, and can help you tune-up your valiant marketing efforts.Today’s marketing director (or media planner) is faced with a daunting task: pour through the massive click data on dozens of web portals, trying to make some sort of R.O.I. (return-on-investment) sense from it, and make defendable decisions and recommendations. Chances are the result of their effort is not much more than receipt of a truckload of numbers and line charts periodically from a metric vendor; stats and data that appear mind-boggling, unconnected and endless.

If all those data points manifest themselves in broad generalizations such as “hits,” “clicks” and “referrals” you should be asking yourself: Is this ample data to make a justifiable decision to launch / continue / modify my online marketing programs?

Can you say for certain that you know each individual page of your site’s content meets your customer’s exacting (and discriminating) needs? Very importantly, can you deeply understand which marketing programs you or your company have running are effective, and what the specific return-on-investment they provide you?

Here’s the bottom line: Are you receiving the right data in the right form, that can help you better shape your online and offline marketing programs and guide you in spending your precious budget most wisely?

Apparently, the answer is yes.

Keith Regan, in a recent e-Commerce Times article noted: “Companies that have achieved success in sorting through the sea of statistics say figuring out which metrics matter is key to mining ROI from them.”

But not everyone realizes the insight “gold” that is available to be mined, if they would only know how to. Chances are, if all you’re looking at are weekly or monthly stats from log files, or a compiled click-through tally from most metrics providers you’re only seeing a small piece of what really amounts to a very scenic and descriptive customer metric landscape.

Thanks to Keith for his insight. Next time I’ll talk about “Digging for Web Metric Gold.”

Agree? Disagree? Have a success story? Have a question? Share it with me at: bob_chernet@viewmark.com

View a complete list of Bob’s Marketing Insights articles.

© 2007 Bob Chernet
Reproduction in any manner is unlawful, without the written permission of the author.

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How many times has this happened to you? You walk up to an entry door at a store or business and pull on the handle to open it, only to run straight into the glass, the door unmoved? What you didn’t know was the door opened inward and you should have pushed. What clues did the door give you to push versus pull? Was there a sign? Obviously the large handle reaching outward gave the impression that you should pull.

While seemingly you did everything right the result was an obvious error / misunderstanding which wasted your time, caused momentary frustration and embarrassment to you as others saw you walk into the door.

In this example form did not follow function. The designer of the door clearly should have tested its design with a typical user, who would have instantly discovered the flaw in communicating what to do; push or pull.

How many other products could you name that should have gone through similar usability testing? Certainly you can look around your home or business for examples. What about your company’s website? Did you ever think that the website user interface you or your web development company created has similar stumbling blocks, but instead of momentary frustration the result was a missed e-commerce sale, product inquiry or customer contact? Worse yet, was the user sufficiently confused so as to give up finding the information they were looking for and go elsewhere for an answer?

There is widespread belief throughout the web industry that user interfaces are easy to develop; a belief that has been strengthened by the proliferation of user interface development tools. As users of interactive products become more critical consumers with higher and higher expectations, usability becomes the strategic tool which can go a long way toward the success of an interactive product.

From the user’s perspective usability is critical because it can make the difference between performing a task accurately and completely or not; enjoying the process or being frustrated. From the developer’s perspective usability means the difference between the success or failure of a website and the message / process it seeks to convey. From a management point of view software with poor usability can reduce productivity to a level of performance worse than without the software. In all cases, lack of usability can cost time and effort, and can greatly influence success or failure of a website.

Given a choice, people will tend to prefer websites which are more user-friendly.

Usability and user interaction design are concerned with the behavior of the software in response to a user performing tasks as well as the “look and feel” of the interface. The designers and programmers at your development company should be concerned with understanding the tasks that the users will perform, then designing an intuitive user interface to support those tasks. You can validate those designs through usability testing methodology.

Usability testing can:

• Help discover the real needs and tasks of the user early in the design process.
• Balance graphic design with functionality
• Provide tangible evidence for design recommendations
• Reduce costs by anticipating and eliminating potential user roadblocks
• Show significant cost savings beyond deployment of the product, through user productivity
• Provide a competitive advantage

A properly-designed usability study can actively provide feedback on the successes and failures of a user interface, prompting requests for changes to the look-and-feel as well as the software. This usability testing prior to public release will provide several notable results, including:

• Decreased need for ongoing technical support
• Full user Q&A throughout the entire site / experience
• Decreased user acclimation time
• Increased user productivity
• Decreased user errors
• Increased accuracy of data input and data interpretation
• Decreased overall development and maintenance costs
• Decreased customer support costs
• More follow-on business due to satisfied customers

Much like a focus group, usability testing requires recruiting users from the target audience, a relaxed testing environment, real-time information capture of screen movement and operator cues, as well as a complete and high level report on findings. While still relatively rare, companies who offer specialized usability testing are finding greater demand for their services. Why?

Usability testing can result in a more intuitive and successful user experience.

It validates the design.

It assures the communication of message.

It’s a smart business investment.

Agree? Disagree? Have a success story? Have a question? Share it with me at: bob_chernet@viewmark.com

View a complete list of Bob’s Marketing Insights articles.

© 2007 Bob Chernet
Reproduction in any manner is unlawful, without the written permission of the author.