Without a doubt, offline marketing channels—TV, radio, newspapers and magazines, billboards, direct mail, catalogs, word-of-mouth—highly influence purchasing decisions, whether a customer actually makes the purchase online via your website or offline via a call center or a local store. But if a purchase is made online, how can you determine the offline channels’ marketing contribution to the transaction?
Fortunately, with a little advance preparation and coordination, you can track the effectiveness of your offline campaigns in driving online conversions.
Customize URLs and Landing Pages
To measure the effect of an offline campaign, incorporate custom URLs and landing pages into your marketing tactics, then use your Web analytics tool (e.g., Google Analytics) to track the online activity resulting from the offline channel. For example, let’s say you decide to run a campaign for a cool new gadget you’re introducing through TV, radio and magazine ads in addition to your online marketing efforts. Where do you begin?
First, choose a unique, “friendly” URL (aka a vanity URL) for each offline channel in your campaign. A vanity URL needs to be easy for a viewer/listener/reader to remember (and spell), and you need to feature it prominently in the corresponding offline ad along with an enticing call to action. The vanity URL will redirect visitors (via a 301 permanent redirect—ask your Web master to set this up) to a custom, quick-to-load landing page on your website that will enable visitors to complete the action initiated by your ad. Although the messaging on the landing pages of the various media might be similar, each landing page needs to echo the specific look-and-feel, language and information of the ad designed for a particular medium.
For example, the vanity URL that appears prominently in your TV ad for the new gadget might be something as simple as www.coolgadget.com/tv. This URL will seamlessly redirect visitors to a page on your site identified by a lengthier “trackable” URL that includes campaign parameters that your Web analytics program can work with. (Google Analytics provides the URL Builder tool to help you generate this trackable URL.) You’ll be able to determine which visitors are coming to your landing page as a result of your TV ad because your analytics report will break out those who entered directly by typing the vanity URL into their Web browser vs. those who arrived via referrals/links from other websites (e.g., Twitter) that might mention your special URL. You can drill down further to find out other information about these visitors.
The corresponding landing page for your TV ad should immediately engage the visitor and reflect the precise information and offer expressed in the ad—with no distractions—to help the visitor find what he is looking for and complete the action he set out to do in response to your ad. Your goal is for the visitor to experience continuity and identity between what the ad portrayed and what appears on your landing page.
Bonus Advantage of Using This Technique
In addition to being able to track and monitor the influence of your offline campaigns on online conversions in the same way that you track your online campaigns, you can also determine your customers’ preference for different marketing channels. Over time, you’ll be able to collect specific data about the best target audience for certain types of offline messaging and communications channels, thus not only improving your customers’ experience but also providing better ROI on your integrated marketing campaigns.
Fortunately, with a little advance preparation and coordination, you can track the effectiveness of your offline campaigns in driving online conversions.
Customize URLs and Landing Pages
To measure the effect of an offline campaign, incorporate custom URLs and landing pages into your marketing tactics, then use your Web analytics tool (e.g., Google Analytics) to track the online activity resulting from the offline channel. For example, let’s say you decide to run a campaign for a cool new gadget you’re introducing through TV, radio and magazine ads in addition to your online marketing efforts. Where do you begin?
First, choose a unique, “friendly” URL (aka a vanity URL) for each offline channel in your campaign. A vanity URL needs to be easy for a viewer/listener/reader to remember (and spell), and you need to feature it prominently in the corresponding offline ad along with an enticing call to action. The vanity URL will redirect visitors (via a 301 permanent redirect—ask your Web master to set this up) to a custom, quick-to-load landing page on your website that will enable visitors to complete the action initiated by your ad. Although the messaging on the landing pages of the various media might be similar, each landing page needs to echo the specific look-and-feel, language and information of the ad designed for a particular medium.
For example, the vanity URL that appears prominently in your TV ad for the new gadget might be something as simple as www.coolgadget.com/tv. This URL will seamlessly redirect visitors to a page on your site identified by a lengthier “trackable” URL that includes campaign parameters that your Web analytics program can work with. (Google Analytics provides the URL Builder tool to help you generate this trackable URL.) You’ll be able to determine which visitors are coming to your landing page as a result of your TV ad because your analytics report will break out those who entered directly by typing the vanity URL into their Web browser vs. those who arrived via referrals/links from other websites (e.g., Twitter) that might mention your special URL. You can drill down further to find out other information about these visitors.
The corresponding landing page for your TV ad should immediately engage the visitor and reflect the precise information and offer expressed in the ad—with no distractions—to help the visitor find what he is looking for and complete the action he set out to do in response to your ad. Your goal is for the visitor to experience continuity and identity between what the ad portrayed and what appears on your landing page.
Bonus Advantage of Using This Technique
In addition to being able to track and monitor the influence of your offline campaigns on online conversions in the same way that you track your online campaigns, you can also determine your customers’ preference for different marketing channels. Over time, you’ll be able to collect specific data about the best target audience for certain types of offline messaging and communications channels, thus not only improving your customers’ experience but also providing better ROI on your integrated marketing campaigns.
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