How to Take Charge of Multichannel Metrics

Multichannel Marketing is Multidimensional

One of the challenges of multichannel marketing is measurement. The reason measurement is a challenge is because the multichannel experiences occur across a variety of dimensions. It is difficult to capture in just a simple chart or matrix everything that is going on in the multichannel process. In this post I want to focus on the firm's capabilities versus customer preferences using consumer marketing as an example. For example, the customer base has a certain communication channel preference, such as email or mobile.  We have certain channel strategies in place and our priorities are reflected by the resources we allocate..

Customer Preferences vs. Our Strategy

The first step in measuring a channel strategy is to take an honest look at our channels versus those preferred by the customer to ensure that there is a match. The first question to ask is are we spending our money where our customers are spending their time?   If the customer is primarily focused on mobile devices and we communicate rarely over that channel, then there is a mismatch of resources that the analysis will highlight. The overlap in customer channel preferences and our strategy in the figure below represents an opportunity to develop our communications in those preferred channels.

Take Charge by Aligning Channel Preference with Channel Strategy

For example, recent studies indicate that consumers are spending more time online but that advertising budgets are still focused on traditional media. This chart illustrates the time spent versus total ad spend for a variety of channels in 2011. There is a clear disconnect between the time spent on mobile devices and ad spend. This trend is only going to be more prominent as users have been flocking to mobile devices in even greater numbers since that time. Our suggested analysis would show the time spent on channel by the consumer and and the corresponding resources we have allocated to that channel.

Maximizing Channel Strategy:  Don't Overlook Emerging Channels

Another  example of an opportunity for maximizing channel strategy could be tablet devices.  Tablets are rapidly outperforming mobile devices for shopping. The screen sizes are larger and allow for easier shopping. Not surprisingly, average order values, retail traffic, and conversion rates are higher on tablet.  Yet again the spending on tablets lags the activity on the tablet by the consumer.  So the first step to developing multichannel metrics is to develop a strategy that is consistent with customer preferences.  Only by understanding first where the customer is spending time and how they like to communicate can we hope to develop an effective multichannel measurement program.

By Debra Zahay-Blatz.
You can find Debra on Google+ and Twitter as well as LinkedIn.

Top 7 Takeaways from the DAA Chicago Symposium

The Digital Analytics Association Chicago Association Symposium on September 17th attracted over 200 attendees for a stellar agenda on Omnichannel Marketing.  It was a pleasure to serve on the planning committee.  The topic was "Connecting the Dots: Optimizing the Customer Experience in an Omnichannel World."

We had a student/newcomer session in the morning which attracted 30-40 folks. It was a lively and attentive audience.I have put my talk on at the forum on Multichannel/Omnichannel Marketing on slideshare.  The talk contains introductory information on the topic and a transition into the following discussion on analytics attribution.


I enjoyed the entire day but some of the key takeaways for me from the symposium were as follows:

1. Attribution as hockey:  +Braden Carlson and Kris Young from Digitas used hockey to describe how we need to give credit to channels that enable the final purchase, focusing on ROI and not just 'last click.' It's really not a customer funnel but more of a 'ping pong' effect, as my slides show.
2. In-house trend:  +Andrew Swinand  comment that 52% of companies surveyed  want to bring digital in house so they can respond more quickly and inexpensively to market needs, driven by data, meant to me that there will be a growing market for the type of generalist marketers we are educating in our Digital Marketing programs.
3. More data, less usage:  Andrew also quoted an IBM-released CMO survey, saying that only 30 pct of CMOs use data to make decision, down 17 points from prior years.  If fact, 70 percent say they are unprepared to utilize data, so there is a lot of opportunity for the education in this area.  I wonder if there is in some sense a fear of using data or just not enough knowledge, or both.
4. Data quality: +Casey Carey  from Adometry reiterated the need for quality data in the organization, which is the focus of some of my recently-published academic research.  You can find this information summarized on my slideshare presentation from the last eMetrics forum.
5. Focus on outcomes:  I also enjoyed Casey's approach, "Begin with the End in Mind."  We focus on outcomes in education and it was interesting to hear this approach for marketing.  It is the second time I have heard this approach in a week and it really makes sense.  Focusing on the customer experience helps us understand which data to collect and then analyzing that data helps us understand how best to meet customer needs.  Are we focused on attraction, acquisition or retention?  The strategic outcome should determine our tactical approach.
6. Shortened buying cycle:  Shelby Saville and Kristin Haarlow from Spark Communications highlighted the 'ping pong effect in customer decision making and that the buying cycle is radically condensed.  In the auto industry, the purchase cycle is down to 28 days.  This condensed cycle puts more pressure than ever on marketers to deliver.
7. The basics are constant:  As +tony bombacino noted, it is still, "Right customer, Right message, Right time."  That simple phrase should be the goal of any analytics program.

Please look into joining the DAA if you want more of this type of information and a great  group of colleagues. Kudos to +Amit Kadam, +Kristin Schwallie, +Jared Vestal, Don Drews and others for your work on this great event.  Hope to see you all at the next one!

By Debra Zahay-Blatz.
You can find Debra on Google+ and Twitter as well as LinkedIn.