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.htaccess account addition after payment.
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alright, i am into animals. (mostly dogs) i would like to start a small company selling dog items. i don't know nothing about making a site really, so i was surfing around, ect. i seen yahoo says it's like...
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Effective online ads.  |
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12.08.04
Getting The “R” In ROI From Web-Generated Leads
 By Mal Watlington
You've been asked to provide an ROI justification for online lead generation. So what's the problem?
In the B2C world, the calculation of eCommerce ROI can seem deceptively simple. For example, FuzzyWorlds's web marketing manager (the buyer) pays 5 cents per click for "fleece vest" to lead buyers to a website where they can purchase a FuzzyWorld-logo fleece vest. If it takes 50 clicks on "fleece vest" to move a vest for which they get $5.00 profit or margin . . . depending on FuzzyWorld's model . . ., they have realized an ROI of 100% ($5.00-$2.50/$2.50) less the time-value of money for this pay-per-click (ppc) option.
 The problem comes when FuzzyWorld's customers decide to mix modes! Rather than buy the vest online, the customer concludes her research and goes to the mall to make a purchase. FuzzyWorld gets the "R" but is unable to connect it to the "I" in ppc advertising. If this modal shift happens enough, FuzzyWorld may think that its store advertising or mall presence deserves an investment boost, and siphons money away from "underperforming" web marketing activities.
For retail/B2C there are some simple solutions to this problem. Examples include "buy here and pick it up at the store" campaigns (Best Buy) or the "web coupon good at the store" model (Micro Center). And the connection between modes is facilitated by the short time interval between web view and in-store purchase.
OK, that's fine for B2C, but what about B2B?
In the B2B world, customer behavior and the length of the buying cycle make the connection between on-the-web activity and the decision to purchase much more difficult to trace. For example, the number of players and communication modes on the customer side varies. These may include first contact via email from an engineer seeking to solve a problem, a second contact by phone from that individual's direct superior, face-to-face contact by members of an evaluation committee (for large purchases) and a final telephone or email contact by someone from purchasing. Even with a relatively sophisticated CRM/SFA system like Salesforce.com, which aggregates leads, contacts, accounts and sales "opportunities", ROI calculations can get sketchy.
Given these realities, what can the B2B web marketer or SEM vendor who provides services for that marketer do to capture real ROI data? What can they do to "connect the dots" for those who must review and approve funding for web marketing campaigns? How can they judge the effectiveness of their web marketing efforts?
Conversion Happens at Many Stages, Not Just the Sale
The first step in understanding ROI is realizing that conversion occurs at many steps, each of which must be captured and documented. And to determine ROI, where "I" is the cost of a lead, this means having the discipline to trace the lead and its outcomes from start to finish. Finally the path "from start to finish" depends on the sales model that your organization employs.
Outbound Sales Model
For companies employing an outbound sales process (lead generation - lead qualification - outbound sales rep call) it's up to the marketing department to track:
1.The origination point of each lead, be it (a) contact through a search engine, (b) direct contact through the company's url and website or (c) through some offline source like a trade show
2.The entry point for each lead, be it (a) online, (b) telephone, (c) personal contact or (d) other means and
3.The presence of intermediaries be they friends or colleagues of the person(s) who connects with the selling company or a broker (e.g. VAR, agency, etc.) who is making contact on behalf of a third party.
If the origination point is online, it is possible to trace the comings and goings of leads using Webtrends or other commercially available tracking tools. It is necessary to "cookie" each referrer to track their path, and to know if the same person (computer) converts from a "looker" to a real lead. [Quote from Webtrends site: "A more accurate number of visits and unique visitors results when cookies are used to track web site visitors. If visitors are tracked by IP address rather than by cookie, this can result in an inflated visit and unique visitor count."]
Inbound Sales Model
 Organizations with inbound sales processes (lead generation - inbound call or web contact - sales rep/call center operative response) have many of the same needs for lead tracing as their outbound counterparts. If the contact comes through the company website, with a prospect asking for a return call or email, electronic tracing (see comments on Webtrends above) once again comes into play. When the contact comes via email or phone (or in the case of one seller known to the writer, a chat line) the person at the entry point may have to gather origination point and if possible intermediary information on the spot.
Once again, the key issue is how to prepare an operative who sits at the entry point to ask the appropriate tracing questions without turning off the prospect. This is not a matter of simple scripting. Training must include:
1.Learning how to "read" the prospect - including preferred communication style (MBTI type, visual/auditory/kinesthetic sorting, etc.
2.Setting up the conditions (perceived value-add, rapport, etc.) that earn the operative the right to ask the necessary questions.
3.Being able to help the prospect recall past events without "leading the witness."
Read the rest of the article.
About the Author:
Mal Watlington is President of City Square Consulting, Inc., a specialty consulting firm focused on the achievement of superior financial performance through market focus, competitive responsiveness and workforce potential realization. |
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