Become a champion in the eyes of your client

Performance-based marketing is quickly emerging as the ideal method of conducting business. Gradually, agencies have begun to recognize its benefits at a time when more and more advertisers demand proven, quantitative results. Across search and display media spends, paying for performance has proven itself an effective way of maximizing return on investment. As agencies and brands are now adding e-mail to their media spends, they are beginning to truly reap the benefits of an integrated, multimedia, performance-based spend.

Opting for a performance-based marketing campaign takes a thorough understanding of the different media channels and their potential. Here's how to take action to maximize your results.

What worked well 10 or 15 years ago does not necessarily work well today, yet many agencies continually employ the same traditional marketing programs they've implemented in the past out of fear of upsetting the client and losing the account. Not surprisingly, brands are airing concerns about agencies being behind the ball on progressive media spends. According to a survey conducted by Rainmaker Consulting, clients want agencies to be far more proactive. What's more, a whopping 85% of clients say agencies don't prepare enough. Agencies such as Avenue A/Razorfish are far ahead of this curve by outpacing the status quo and providing their clients with true performance-based options.

Now is the time to prove your worth and steer the reigns of your client's campaign in a powerful new direction by leveraging the benefits of online. Online media spends offer measurable, immediate results in a much more concrete format than off-line campaigns ever delivered. The key is educating clients on how to test new media and how much ROI potential there is based on the sample spends.

More often than not, integrating online channel spends across search, e-mail and display will deliver the best return on your client's investment. So, make sure not to think in silos.

Nearly 750 million people 15 years and older used the Internet worldwide in January 2007, up 10% over January 2006, according to a report by ComScore. In fact, two online media activities - e-mail and Web surfing - are now more popular than watching television.

Think about that statistic for just a second. Your clients' target audience is online yet agencies continue to allocate outrageous amounts of advertising dollars to television. The Direct Marketing Association recently released its 2007 study, The Integration of DM & Brand, which finds that interactive channels were rated far more favorably by respondents in terms of their effect on brand over television and print. E-mail and Web sites saw the highest reports of positive effect on brand: 44% over 17% for television.

If you need more evidence, simply express how online is cost-effective and efficient because the results are all quantifiable. Every sale, every eyeball, every click can be accounted for month-to-month or day-to-day. And, the performance-based model means your clients are only paying for real results. Deliver these and you will be the undisputed online champion for your clients and your agency.