Fear is an emotional response to danger. Anxiety is a physiological response that often arises out of and in proportion to the actual threat or danger involved. In the case of multichannel marketing, fear and anxiety can result from a sense that your advertising doesn’t appear to be working any longer. I can’t track the response. I have to immediately cut my ad budget back. I need to limit ordering choices. I need to change agencies. What should I do? I may get fired.
First of all, calm down. Take a deep breath.
Understanding the impact of your search marketing dollar and planning future spend has grown more complicated in a multichannel environment, but is by no means impossible. It’s time to start behaving like a multichannel marketer.
Today more than ever, prospects, users and customers are interacting with your company through multiple channels, and the facts demonstrate that multichannel customers are worth far more than single-channel customers. So instead of running for shelter, I suggest that you throw your arms open to multichannel activity, embrace the opportunities it presents and encourage it. Instead of restricting access, give people the chance to move down different paths that satisfy their needs to explore, compare, research and buy and pick up their purchases where they want. The key to doing this successfully is to diligently and accurately benchmark, track, source, measure and optimize the media channels that drive activity, both individually and in totality. In the long run, a clear picture of all the channels that users are seeking to reach you will trickle back to your keyword and optimization strategies.
How do you know if your marketing budget is working? Measure your ROI by adding up everything by individual channel, sourced by the unique media venue that drove the activity. Include telemarketing, mobile, direct URL, SEM, and SEO. Evaluate the value of revenue from the first sale, also taking into account the synergy created by continuity and multiple purchases.
To effectively implement this strategy, create a channel acquisition plan of action. Apply the same methodologies you have successfully used previously in segmenting your customer base, except now segment each channel by looking for pockets of activity. I call the effect “Puddling”. Raindrops fall in different areas not in a single place. Water then pools into deeper puddles based on the underlying foundational structures. Activity can be looked at the same way. Be ready where the activity flows and be ready to intercept and optimize it.
