Companies of all sizes make similar mistakes, so remember to keep track of all your campaigns and keep an eye on core metrics

Written by Mona Elesseily on December 6, 2018 at 10:40 a.m

Companies large and small can experience setbacks when it comes to online marketing. A common misconception is that large companies don’t make the same mistakes as small companies, but the truth is quite the opposite. Here are a few common mistakes and ways to avoid them.

1. Not tracking all promotions

Believe it or not, this mistake is more common than you think! In my experience, there are a few reasons why companies fail to properly track online promotions. The first is quite simple, and the tracking measures themselves are time-consuming and cumbersome. In many cases, it takes as much time to ensure that tracking measures are properly and accurately implemented, similar to the time spent designing a campaign.

In addition, the company may not even know which campaign is being tracked. This is more common in companies with a large number of promotion programs. There are also companies that have too many promotion activities and channels to bother with tracking measures. Many times, the root cause of the problem is that the company does not have an established system or procedure in place to prioritize tracking measures. Tracking is easy when tracking procedures are in place and a tagging management system is in place.

There are several mistakes that are made by companies in general. When reviewing trail measures, we often find that they exist, but they are vulnerable. Here are some common misses:

Incoming calls are not tracked

Customers who call to the company are more serious than those who casually search for company information on the Internet. If you don’t understand how much business a call can generate, you may misuse your promotion budget. As for tracking incoming calls, there are plenty of options available.

There is no tracking of instant conversations

Instant conversations are also a source of sales! For our clients, there is almost one customer who spends money in almost every eight instant conversations. In this case, we track each message and note how many people will become customers after the live conversation.

Offline conversions are not tracked

Optimize actual sales activity in a centralized manner by leveraging indirect metrics like Google’s In-Store or better yet, by aggregating offline sales data. There are also companies like Hyllo.io that offer software/hardware solutions that can help you track in-store customer traffic and combine that data with actual sales.

The conversion of the mobile device is not calculated

It’s not a 100-point score, but it’s worth it. As we all know, as the device changes, so does the flow distribution. A good example of this is when a customer searches on a mobile device and then converts on a computer. As a result, the flow of traffic from the flow conversion may seem less or more expensive than other devices, and the reason is that you don’t see the whole process. So, remember to consider this factor before deploying your “tracking” plan.

2. Insufficient attention is paid to core KPIs

If you don’t concentrate your fire, you’ll be a mess. There is no doubt that good companies are focusing their firepower on core metrics. For example, one of our B2B customers wanted to increase monthly recurring revenue (MRR) through new orders, upsells, and increased revenue per product. To get there, they should look at new users and cost per move (CPA). If they don’t miss any of them, they will just become a blind fly.

Therefore, we recommend focusing on the core indicators, tracking them closely and providing reports. Let everyone in the company work towards the same KPI, and let them know the general direction and indicators, don’t ignore anyone!

If you want to take it to the next level, you can use a software program such as Stitch to integrate information from your customer relationship management system (CRM) and online promotions. Then use Power BI to visualize the data and tailor the relevant charts and dashboards.

3. Chase the latest and greatest promotions or platforms

I often hear things like, “We want to try this new promotion method or platform because they’ve been so well received.” It doesn’t hurt to give it a try, but I think it’s limiting. For example, I like to set aside a portion of my time (like 10 percent) to do experiments. If they work, include them in your campaign. If it doesn’t work out well, you won’t waste valuable time.

In my experience, experimentally proven strategies often perform better than new methods. It makes sense to work on effective outreach campaigns so that they thrive. To find out this kind of campaign, I consider a few key questions, such as:

● Who is our best target audience? How can this be strengthened?

● What are our most productive channels? How can you leverage these channels to drive more sales?

● Who are our best customers? How can I find more of the same customers?

● Have we done our best to assist our customers? What room for improvement?

● Is it easy to buy something from us? How can you make it easier?

● Have we missed any of the opportunities that are within reach? Have you optimized for these opportunities?

● It is important to grow your business strategically and add new customers.