How Sophisticated Are Your Digital Campaigns?

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There are many formulas that people come up with to measure the return on investment on their digital campaigns. As marketing programs mature over time, the measurement becomes more sophisticated; perfect nirvana being that the digital measurement can be tied into an actual "real-world" transaction.

Here are five simple measures of success.

• Measure I: Is it cheaper? Marketers use digital because they feel that the cost of engagement is a lot cheaper than what it takes to engage with the consumer over a paper-based channel. Email, mobile, and social allow you to cut down significantly on the cost of communication. The key question to ponder is do you measure total sends divided by the cost of communication or do you measure the total engaged divided by the cost of communications?
• Measure II: Is it quicker? Just "click" and your message could be right in front of your consumer. Sometimes, the need to quickly get to the consumer is imperative. Filling last-minute empty seats or reminding the consumer that something is due or requesting consumers to check in to a flight are good examples of right-time messaging. While speed is important, make sure that your message is "correct."
• Measure III: Can you adjust based on the ability to track? Marketers have the opportunity to measure views, clicks, and differently defined stages of conversion. Many marketers view these campaign statistics and are able to modify or adjust their campaigns. A "quick" test will help a marketer test out the "perfect" message. The perfect messaging cycle should involve an A/B test followed by the campaign, followed by a detailed analysis before launching the next campaign.
• Measure IV: Can you personalize your messaging? I never delete my electronic statement from my bank, digital receipts that I want to opt in to, or requests for information (by me) on social media channels. If the message is personal and important, it stays. You want to track what people are doing, place them in segments, and personalize each message uniquely (or strive to) toward recipients.
• Measure V: Can you leverage this information across channels? Your goal as a marketer is not just to send a message but to be interactive. To be interactive you need to build preference repositories about your consumers so you can create a two-way dialogue with your recipients. Successful brands will pass along this interactivity across channels. So an action at an ATM might lead to a receipt on your mobile, which might trigger an email. Your goal is to not only cross digital channels, but to leverage this digital information across your more traditional channels.

I deliberately numbered each of the above from I to V. Brands usually start off in digital because it is cheap and quick, number I or number II. They get a little more sophisticated when they adjust their campaigns (III). They begin to excel (IV) when they create interactive personalized streams. Perfect nirvana (V) is reached when brands can do this across channels.

See where your brand stands. Most brands are at a three, some are even a four, with many striving for a five rating. The closer you are to a five, the higher your degree of sophistication.

Royal image on home page via Shutterstock.