I attended an industry event yesterday where an agency presenting talked about great view and click through rates. This is fine in a room full of marketers and agency folk who made approving noises, but would it have been enough for those outside of marketing who hold the purse strings?
Are too many marketers obsessed with the percentages and numbers rather than the actual result? Is a 25 per cent view and 8 per cent click-through rate something that is going to make sure you have a job in 3 months time?
Marketers out there need to get serious and understand the value of the recipients they are talking to on behalf of the business. As a company we aim to connect our best people with all our key clients and prospects, preferably face to face. So we use other channels such as phone and email to support our relationship objectives.
Another complaint I hear regularly from those supplying content for marketing purposes is that the only time they ever hear from marketing is when they require content. There is rarely any feedback on what was done with it, how the content was received or why more is required.
What we must deliver is information people can use. If I have written an article, don’t tell me that 3 per cent of the recipients clicked through and read it, as it doesn’t sound very high. Tell me about one person who means a lot to me, say the Managing Partner at Linklaters, and I will be writing you a lot more content next week, let alone next month. You might also find that I tell other people in the business about how it’s worth writing stuff for marketing as you get real results.
Yes, benchmarking is important as it lets you know how well your content and channel is performing. But if you want to keep the momentum, try to deliver reports back to the business that people can quickly apply to achieve a positive outcome.I like the term ‘taxi report’. It refers to a report that someone can read quickly in a cab. It only contains information that can be digested and used in their meeting with the client. It gives them insight on what this client has been reading, when they received their last email and if they have responded to any event invitations.
Email is an essential part of B2B marketing, but the reporting is not for the purpose of marketers winning awards at marketing industry events. It is there to be analysed, summarised and, ultimately, used to deliver real value to the business. Don’t say to yourself “I don’t have time to look at the reporting”, as you may find you suddenly have a lot more time on your hands as you weren’t delivering any measurable value when you were busy.
