This post is the second in a series about how B2B marketers can use digital marketing to help them make the most of their resources online and off.  The series summarizes insights from an interview with Dave Wieneke, a Director of Digital Marketing who blogs at UsefulArts.us

The first post described how B2B marketers can set up digital signals to help them monitor marketing performance.  This post describes how B2B marketers can use digital marketing to determine what they need to do to improve marketing performance.

Start with market segmentation

Every market includes a number of constituencies–each with its own goals, priorities, and ways of pursuing their goals.  When you look at the entire market, it’s hard to discern patterns.  The behavior of the various groups can cancel each other out and create a muddy picture.

Therefore, Dave recommends focusing on one segment at a time.  For example, you may want to focus on the prospects that helped you achieve your goals and try to figure out what distinguishes them from everyone else.

Identify the funnel by working backwards from the goal

One way to find out what distinguishes the members of the market segment that contacted the firm is by taking a look at the behavior that lead up to achievement of the goal.  To do this, B2B marketers examine the cookies that visitors set on Google.  These cookies collect information about the paths visitors take to reach websites and the frequency with which they visit.

Dave has helped B2B and B2C marketing teams start with the prospects that help them achieve their goals, and the work backwards to find where qualified prospects come from and what they do before becoming leads.

At Sokolove Law, to find the behaviors that lead up to the display of the “thank you” note, Dave’s digital marketing team searched for other behaviors these prospects had in common.  In so doing, they determined that the behavior that was most likely to lead to filling out the form, was a visit to a page that shows how Sokolove Law helps clients recover financially from injuries.  Knowing which pages are important to getting leads then helped the firm improve its websites.

Other ways to determine if what you’re doing is working

In this example, the behavior that had the greatest likelihood of helping the marketing team achieve its goal, was visitors’ engagement with a particular piece of content.  In other cases, it could be any one of a number of behaviors.  Examples include the total number of pages qualified prospects viewed before achieving your goal, the time they spent on the site, and the path that brought them to the site.

There are many ways that web analytics can help marketers determine what’s working.  Examples include comparing the traffic from social sources to the traffic from search, looking at the amount of time spent on one page versus another (does it make sense given the content of each?), or determining whether visitors who see a particular combination of campaigns are more likely to help the marketing department reach a goal than those who view only one.

Digital marketing can help marketers improve the efficiency and efficacy of their marketing campaigns

Once you learn what works, you can explore ways to increase the efficiency and efficacy of your marketing initiatives.  To improve efficacy, you’ll want to explore ways to achieve your goals more often.

For example, you might try increasing your investment in the search terms that, you determined, were most likely to send the prospects that helped you achieve your goals to your site.  Or, you might try placing the marketing that you determined sent the prospects who achieved your goals to particular landing pages, to see if that increases your success rate.

Or, you might want to try to improve the efficiency of your campaigns by exploring ways that you can improve the return you’re getting on your investments.  For example, you may want to see whether reducing the frequency of your direct mail campaigns affects performance–or if switching from direct mail to email makes hurts your performance against your goal.

The digital marketing paradox

In speaking with Dave, I came to realize that while digital marketing may complicate the lives of B2B marketers at small firms in the short run, it has the potential to free up resources in the long run.  Once they have data that demonstrates which marketing investments yield the greatest returns, B2B marketers may be able to justify eliminating some of the programs they’re running today.

This post, and the first in the series address my original questions about where to focus and where to start.  In the next post, we’ll look at Dave’s four step methodology and attempt to address the questions about what investments small marketing departments that want to pursue digital marketing need to make immediately , how long it will take to get up to speed, and what it will take to remain competitive in the long run.

Related posts:

1. Digital Marketing: 4 steps to success
2. Digital marketing: How B2B marketers can use it to pick the best marketing strategies
3. B2B marketers struggle to reach decision makers and measure marketing results
4. Can B2B marketing strategies for the complex sale help improve health outcomes?

To illustrate his point, Dr. Fader looked at the data underlying a study that concluded that Hispanics were more likely to purchase DVDs than Caucasians.  He began by acknowledging that the conclusion was accurate–but not particularly useful.

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics

First he called our attention to the difference in purchases between the two demographic groups which, although statistically significant, was only separated by a couple percentage points.   A difference that he said would not yield enough revenue to justify unique marketing campaigns.

Then he presented a second graph which showed side-by-side comparisons of the two groups’ purchasing behavior.  The curves were identically shaped bell curves–although the level of the curve representing Hispanics’ purchases of DVDs was slightly higher.

In short, the differences within each group–which recorded purchases under varying circumstances–trumped the differences between the two demographic groups.

Data you can use

His point? In the old days, our only option was to segment markets by visible (i.e. demographic) differences.  Today, however, we have access to behavioral data–which is often far more useful–thanks to the web.

His suggestion? Follow the clickstream to learn how your buyers behave, especially the ones that purchase, and plan your marketing campaigns accordingly.  Rather than grouping those in similar demographic categories, group those with similar behavior (e.g. the order in which they do things, the events that trigger action)

The catch? Fader says that other studies show that you can’t predict the behavior of individual participants, only populations, so you’ll need a lot of data to gather enough information to segment your market in a meaningful way.

Takeaway? The principles underlying Marketing 101 remain the same, the execution is constantly evolving. That’s what keeps marketers awake at night…

No related posts.

The reason? When readers are ready, the blogs will still be there. And that’s the power of on-line content.

Blog statistics track traffic and level of interest

I know this from direct experience. According to the statistics my blog collects, a lot of visitors find my blog posts weeks or even months after I originally publish. Most of these latecomers find my site when searching for information on a particular subject. Many stick around long enough to read several other posts. A smaller, but significant, number subscribe so they can receive future posts.

Social media is word of mouth on steroids

Rich content attracts visitors. Visitors that like the content recommend it to others by clicking on social media widgets such as Digg, Delicious, Technorati, and StumbleUpon.

The social media widgets in turn link back to the posts that the readers found valuable. As the links accumulate, search engine rankings rise. Higher search engine rankings then attract even more readers and more links and so it goes.

New media distribution channels drive new business model for Public TV

The value of rich content was reinforced by Jonathan Abbott, WGBH CEO and President when he spoke at the Boston Club earlier this month. In response to a question about how new content distribution models were affecting public television’s business model, he shared the following observations.

According to Abbott, now that multiple channels are available, users prefer to receive content when and how it’s most convenient for them. Rather than viewing a TV show live, many will prefer to access it from a computer the following month—or even several years later. Others will prefer to download it to their IPOD so they can watch it anywhere, any time.

Abbott believes therefore that content is not only more valuable to viewers; it’s also more valuable to sponsors. When he visits sponsors, he reminds them that their messages will reach far greater audiences now that the station offers multiple formats—especially since these other formats will persist for years rather than just a few minutes.

Social media ROI

It is this quality that causes social media fans to argue that blogs, and other online content, promise a far greater return on investment than ephemeral marketing campaigns such as print advertising, direct postal mail, or even email newsletters that readers discard soon after they receive them. Conversely, the return on investment of rich online content accelerates over time as more and more viewers recommend it to others.

Marketing strategy still trumps tactics

Nevertheless, with as with all marketing, the strategy is more important than the tactics. Your blog can help you gain visibility and raise frequent visitors’ awareness of all you have to offer. But, if they’re not the right people—all your efforts may be for naught. On the other hand, your sales will soar–along with your search engine rankings—if you know who you need to reach and what they value most.

So, as with all marketing campaigns, start there.  Need help with your blog strategy?  Please contact us.

Related posts:

1. How many people read your blog?