You don't need an algorithmic genius on staff to determine if your marketing is generating a positive return on investment (ROI) for your firm. It just takes the right software and the knowledge of what to measure. 

It doesn't matter what marketing tactics are undertaken if the return on investment goes unknown. This blind spot means potentially wasting a significant percentage of a marketing budget.  Understanding your marketing results and assigning a lifetime cost of customer value will ensure your increasing revenue. Without this knowledge, there is no chance of knowing when tactics need to change or if your marketing even works. Just so we're clear here I'm talking about specific analytics that are measuring your marketing right down to the campaign level and not just Google analytic's type of numbers on website traffic. There are several metrics and analytical tools all business should use to determine the marketing effectiveness and adjust their plans (and budget) as necessary. A number of software tools use metrics that report specific statistics, like how effective their landing page is at developing leads or that keywords are generating visitors and what was the source of traffic back to your website? So which metrics should small and medium-sized businesses be looking at to ascertain their marketing return on investment (ROI)?

MARKETING METRICS

There are several metrics that can cover several different forms of internet marketing (e.g. e-mail campaigns, social media, and website landing pages). These metrics help businesses close the loops in the sales process that can allow for better lead and sale generators. All that companies need to do is apply for them correctly to assess their marketing ROI and see where improvements need to be made.

Click Through Ratio

The number of visitors who clicked on a call to action compared to the number of visitors. Typically this is displayed as a percentage that can be worked out by dividing the first number (the number of clicks) by the second (number of visitors).This metric can be used in any medium that has a call to action including blog posts, landing pages, social media updates, etc.

A visitor to Lead/Lead to Customer Ratio – These two metrics can aid a business in determining which section of the sales process may be performing poorly. The method to calculate is the same as the above by taking one number and dividing it by the second. In this case, it would be the number of visitors divided by the number of leads and the number of leads divided by the number of customers gained. By comparing the two figures, businesses can tell where in the process the system may need improving. For instance, if the Visitor to lead is high, but the lead to customer ratio is low then there is a problem with the drip marketing or workflow segment of the sales process. However, if the visitor to lead is low, and then there may be an issue with the landing page that is designed to generate the leads.

Cost Per Customer

Businesses need to realize how much their marketing is costing per new customer gained as well as the lifetime value of that customer. To work this out, a business needs to take the cost of the marketing and dividing it by the number of new clients. Businesses aim to keep this figure low.

Marketing ROI

Here is a general calculation for companies to determine the Return of Investment for organizations. To calculate this, take the income received that can be attributed to the marketing efforts by the marketing costs. The calculation is used singularly for an individual medium (i.e. e-mail marketing) or generally as a set of marketing activities. The metric should be displayed as a ratio like 1:1 or 2:1. To be in profit, the first figure (the income) should be larger than the second figure (the cost).

Online marketing does not have to be complicated

There are many marketing analytics tools that can help organizations determine their marketing ROI. We prefer Hatchbuck all-in-one online marketing software because of its ease of use, integration with CRM software and it's low cost per function. By utilizing the correct formulas, any company can determine where in the organization the marketing efforts are being effective and where they are not.

About Michael Conway

I'm the owner and strategist at Means-of-Production. My firm builds Squarespace websites, Houzz profiles, and content marketing and advertising solutions for architects, interior designers, design-build contractors and landscape design firms. Our all-in-one marketing tactics attract the right clients with exceptional architectural photography and brand messaging that sets you apart from the competition.