The package

I've talked about the importance of understanding your customer as you develop and implement your online marketing program.  Yes, "your online marketing PROGRAM". To be successful I strongly advise the program or project concept be central to your thinking if you wish to generate maximum results.  There will be many elements working in concert that will contribute to your success.  We will cover these elements over the next several posts.

The best place to start the strategy discussion is to understand what drives a successful online marketing program.  Online marketing is a unique discipline that shares many elements from traditional marketing, direct marketing, mass marketing and professional selling techniques.  Online marketing is a constantly evolving discipline that has more potential to change the way you do business than any of its predecessors.

The unique nature of online marketing is the ability to track and adjust the program to increase return on investment (ROI) very quickly.  Developing a tracking system that clearly reports the tangible profits earned by your online marketing program is the key to success. Measures are needed to tell us where to increase focus and where to reduce resources to maximize the return on investment.  The focus is to clearly illustrate the financial reward of the total program and its individual parts just as we measure the profitability of the total enterprise.

The measures aren't the only element.  The data needs to be interpreted within the context of the experience and knowledge of the business owners and managers to get the best results.  The numbers aren't always telling us what we may think.  Business experience and maturity play a key role too.  

Okay, this is all common sense.  I just told you something you already know.  I emphasis obvious to shed light on the necessity of tracking and the capability we have to measure your online results in a meaningful way.  Online marketing has moved well beyond the concept of website equals an online brochure that might generate a phone call.  Your online marketing effort can now be viewed as a profit center much like your inventory investment or billable service functions.  It is a place to make money by creating greater volume from existing revenue sources with highly targeted and specific digital marketing strategies. The good news is with new technology this is now affordable for small and medium sized enterprises.

To achieve a high level of profitability your online marketing strategy and investment must be multifaceted and measured every step of the way.  You need a very good reason to invest your money and that comes from keeping your focus on results.

Thanks for reading.