Online Shoppers Guide Part 2 – Finding an Online Marketing Supplier

I had a bad dream. 

I dreamt New Zealand Businesses wanted to grow their eCommerce potential but had no idea where to turn for clear information or answers on Online Marketing. Hang on, it wasn’t a dream, it was me thinking about the Breakfast presentation on Online Marketing at the Crown Plaza (Auckland), where the speakers almost tried to confuse the 200 strong Marketing and Senior Managers in attendance.  It was then; I decided to write part 2 of the Online Shoppers Guide on how to find an Online Marketing supplier. 

Don’t get me wrong, they were all good speakers, but they didn’t help.  People come to these things for answers (I come for the food), after the Breakfast, they probably left with more questions!  I left with a stomach ache.

This guide is similar to Part 1, in that it is built for the Senior or Middle Manager, however this time we are discussing the requirements necessary to effectively build an Online Marketing Strategy around your website and business goals.

On to the Guide.  The following is a list of best practice conduct, and hints, to help you select an Online Marketing supplier who can help you build your online business:

Analytics.  A good Online Marketing supplier is results driven, therefore, they should insist on installing Analytics on the website before doing anything else.  The charge for this should not exceed $1,000.  Google Analytics is free to use, therefore they should only charge you for the time to set up the account and facilitate the installation with your Development Company.

Analysis of Visitor Performance.  Having Google Analytics installed on your website is the easy part, but what do you do with all the reports you now have access to? 

The Online Marketing supplier should offer a service which presents website performance at regular intervals.  The Online Marketing supplier should also be identifying performance issues, and recommending solutions.  These solutions should then be forwarded to your Development Company to make the necessary changes.

Google Adwords Company.  When you are looking for a supplier to manage your Pay Per Click (PPC) (define) campaign, make sure the group you select is an Adwords Qualified Company.  Many boast they have an individual who is “Adwords Qualified”.  That is OK; however, an Adwords Company is a group who has many qualified staff who has undergone extensive training with Google and spend a considerable sum with Google each month. 

Pay Per Click and Landing Page Strategy.   Pay Per Click campaigns should never be conducted in isolation.  A Landing Page Strategy should always be run in tandem with PPC campaigns.  This is where Pay Per Click keywords (define) are segmented into groups based on similar visitor needs.
 
For example, the keyword “rental car Auckland” would be in the same group as “Auckland car hire”.  Even though you have two different sets of keyword phrases, both reflect similar customer needs.  

Each keyword group sends relevant traffic to specific landing pages which relate to what the visitor typed into Google (i.e. Landing page would be about renting a car in Auckland).  If an Online Marketing supplier does not understand the concept of landing pages, and how it should interrelate with the Pay Per Click campaign, move on.

Measuring “Cost per Revenue”.  The Online Marketing supplier should be providing you regularly (monthly) reports showing spend and revenue (“Cost per Revenue”).  This will only work if you have quantitative measures for your website goals i.e. sales.  If you do, this measure answers the question, “What ROI was delivered?”  Cost per revenue takes the cost of media and compares it to revenue generated, therefore, if you spent $1,000, and made $2,000 in sales, that is a 50% cost per revenue.  

An article found in Clickz exemplifies how this measure is effective in defining the value of the PPC campaign.  Comments from the article:

“By using the cost per revenue metric, we are finally able to measure factors that are important to us, such as which sites are generating the greatest revenue and the highest margins, and then adjust our marketing choices accordingly,” said Bettina Hanna, Best Buy.com’s director of brand and acquisition. “This is a big step beyond knowing only which sites are generating the most orders.”

“Cost per revenue represents the next step in the evolution of digital marketing metrics,” said Young-Bean Song, director of the Atlas Institute. “CPR advertisers can develop campaigns that more accurately deliver on their business goals.”

As a rule of thumb, any Pay Per Click campaign which delivers over 25% cost per revenue is a poorly run campaign.

Multivariate Testing.  Multivariate testing (define) provides you with unbiased feedback on how to speak to your target market, layout a page, and design an appealing call to action (i.e “Buy Now” button).  The days of guessing what changes to make to improve the performance of your website is now over.  The value of informed decision making can be now realised with Multivariate testing.
 
The key to this service is not the tool to make it work, this is free.  Thanks Google!  The key to the success of Multivariate testing comes with the team driving it.  You need a supplier who has experience in using this tool and understands what elements of a specific page need testing.  Ask the Online Marketing supplier for case studies or examples of successes with other clients.

In closing, Online Marketing is not about driving traffic.  It is about increasing online performance for your website.  The singular approach of driving traffic to a website, does not add value.  The concept of building a brand offline is OK for those with big budgets, and it can translate to online sales, however, you build a brand online through the visitor experience, not by driving unqualified traffic to your website.  This is where everyone goes wrong.

Time for another breakfast.  I am feeling peckish.