Can You Measure ROI of Digital Analytics?

If I may say so myself, I’ve done a pretty decent job setting the stage for this showdown of past vs. future when it comes to measuring the return on investment (ROI) of digital analytics. The former, can best be defined as investment in marketing and investment in the customer.

If you missed out on my first two posts, you can view them here, or to get a better understanding of the Harvard Business Review, case study I am referencing, click here. The HBR Case Study planted the seed, here’s my take:

At the end of the day your ROI should be measured on investment that impacts the bottom dollar – what can you do that will have the greatest impact on sales and profits. Today, this is strictly by the numbers, the future will take us to greater more grey areas in ROI.

Everything we do in our lives today is relationship-oriented. Customers no longer want to simply purchase a brand, from a store, they want to have a relationship with that entity. A sale is no longer a simple profit or “win” for a business but rather the birth of an organism – the birth of a relationship.

Businesses today are called to extreme lengths to meet the wants and needs of their customers through constant interaction and engagement. This change has caused a change in the way we measure success and investment – analytics is no longer the way it used to be.

And that’s, O.K.

The new wave of measuring ROI will be captured in investment in the customer and represented in key performance indicators (KPI), such as:

• ·         Brand Engagement
• ·         Educational Posts
• ·         User-Generated Content

Your accountant will point to your “books” as the most valuable part of your business. 

STOP THAT WAY OF THINKING. 

Businesses don’t go out of business or experience bankruptcy because of a slow year (for the most part). Businesses experience difficulties and failures because of a lack of customers. A way to keep customers coming back, is to build a relationship, foster the organism you’ve created at your first sale. Invest in your customers.

Social Media and Digital Marketing tools are a cost-effective way to keep your customers engaged in your business. Let’s face it, when they’re not in your shop, they’re a target for other businesses.

Using social media and digital marketing channels does not automatically mean that marketers working for you are off the hook. There are several analytical tools that can be used to gauge the successes of marketing campaigns. This new age of measuring ROI does not mean that standard metrics are not useful, such as:

• ·         Number of Followers/Likes/Fans
• ·         Impressions
• ·         Likes, Comments, Shares, Retweets

I’m not here to completely throw hard numbered-metrics out the window. I’m just saying, measuring ROI via investment of the customer requires a more full-bodied approach than ever before.

Trial social media platforms, see what sticks – see where true value is generated from. Successes in the digital channels and properly analyzed metrics will have you blowing by competition in terms of sales and customer satisfaction.

What’s nice about customers is - when you invest in them – they return the favor.