5 Lessons for Successful Internet Marketing

Recently, I was reading an article in Advertising Age that highlighted the lessons from their CMO Strategy Summit.  I would have to agree with the eight things that the article mentions, but I’ve created a modified list of 5 lessons that applied to internet marketing or digital advertising.  Below are my 5 lessons that should be applied to internet marketing: 

1. Challenging Internal Think 
We need to challenge the “internal think” within our organization and marketing departments.  In the world of internet marketing, the old ways of thinking need to be modified and must include collaboration.  In order to be successful, many departments can no longer work in solos; otherwise campaigns are destined to fail.  We must work together to identify the best solutions that help to achieve strategic goals & objectives. This shouldn’t just apply to agency clients but advertising agencies as well. Be sure to limit risk and identify opportunities to control them with challenging internal think. 

2. Building Relations with PR, Finance and IT (be inclusive)
Don’t just get to know your CIO but also the heads of Public Relations, Communications, and Finance.  Understand what they think about your approach challenge, and obtain feedback from them.  Include your department heads into strategic discussions because everyone has a role to play with the marketing campaign.  Be prepared to justify cost, forecast, and predict outcomes with Finance, and reinforce the role of IT within the scope of every campaign.

3. Experiment with Failure (Wisely) – A/B & MV Testing
Experiment with failures through A/B & Multivariate testing of all things digital.  Create controlled experiments, develop hypotheses, identify sample sizes for statistical significance, run the test, and don’t stop testing.  It’s not as expensive as it was in the past with the functionality of Content Management Systems (CMS), Google AdWords, Google Analytics, KISSmetrics, and other usability testing sites.  Start gathering information and spend less time talking about it in meetings that don’t generate outcomes to reduce cost and improve marketing.

4. Local, Regional, and then National
It seem like every business thinks they’re a national brand, but they have challenges spending the national budgets. Grow locally, regionally, and then nationally to save money, measure your effectiveness, and apply your finds to new markets. If done effectively, you just might identify competitive advantages and target national markets that grow your business.

5. Measure & Value
Measure the effectiveness of your marketing tactics and provide a value for leads or sales.  This should lead to better marketing, reductions in cost, and the ability to forecast and predict.  Now, you’re speaking the language of the finance department and gaining credibility.  It should also help to reinforce the value of the IT department. 

These lessons should help to position your organization and team for successful internet marketing campaigns.  I would highly recommend that marketing professionals take a look the CMO Strategic Summit’s 8 lessons.  Let us know if you have any lessons that you’d like to share.  Good Luck! 

A/B Testing (Split Testing) to Convert More Online Customers

What is A/B testing (split testing)?

A/B testing, or split testing, is a marketing testing method by which one baseline control sample is compared to a variety of single-variable test samples in order to improve response or conversion rates. An example would be to test two different subject lines of an email campaign. A/B testing has been implemented for direct mail and within the interactive space to test tactics such as banner ads, emails, landing pages, or even entire websites to improve performance. You can also extend A/B testing to PPC advertising copy, alternative keywords, or PPC keyword match types.

How can my business or marketing department apply A/B testing?

You should always be testing ways to improve the sales process to reduce your cost per acquisition and to improve your customers’ experiences. I would recommend that you start with the “low hanging fruit” that could have the greatest impact on revenue or the customer experience. For example, an A/B test could be a simple as testing the color of the calls-to-action to improve the click-through-rate.

A/B testing can be applied to marketing tactics to improve sales or lead generation at a lower cost. In general, it’s easier to implement A/B testing with digital advertising because of the ability to make changes quickly and optimize the process. The findings from digital advertising can also be carried over to traditional advertising.

A/B Testing Best Practices

If you’re new to A/B/ split testing, here are a few best practices:

Define your goals. Clearly state what you hope to accomplish.

Determine how you plan to accomplish your goals. Keep it Simple!

What are you testing & why?

What is the variation you are testing (color, position, ad copy, etc.)?

Define the control and your variation for testing.

What are your expected results & reasoning?

Measure & Analyze the results through the sales or conversion process.

How do you apply A/B Testing to Internet Marketing Strategy?

You can leverage A/B testing based on geography, psychographics, customer lifecycles, etc. You want to develop realistic goals based on your target audiences. At first, I would recommend being targeted with your approach and limiting the test to a single market. It’s important to identify the greatest impact on the conversion process or sales process by modifying the internet marketing strategy slightly. Be sure to focus on all the results from the beginning of the process to completion and to communicate the results. Think about the effect the testing will have on saving time, money, and creating efficiencies.

Conclusion

If you haven’t started A/B testing, you’re wasting time, money, and missing opportunities. As marketers, we should always be testing to maximize performance and to reduce costs. Testing goes beyond just a subject line or ad copy. It requires focus, consistency, and planning. In addition, you must think about usability, branding, layouts, the purchase process, etc. There are numerous tools such as Web Optimizer, Visual Website Optimizer, or Test &Target to get started.