Did you know that when Heineken was developing a US advertising campaign for their tequila-flavoured beer, Desperados, last year, they experimented with two different platforms. In some states in southeastern America, Heineken ran traditional television commercials. In other states they ran ads only on mobile phones at specific times of the day. Within three months the statistical analysis showed that, in the states where the mobile ads were run, Desperados had grown from zero awareness to a massive 23% awareness – well above the rate of awareness in the states where only television advertising was used.
Heineken’s senior media director Ron Amram said, ‘…We’re attributing the increase in brand awareness to context and personalisation. We used the right media type in front of the right person at a time when they’re most receptive.’ Heineken had correctly assumed that most 20 to 30 year olds were not in front of the TV on Friday night at 9pm – they were actually out s
So, what did Heineken do? Continue with a campaign for Desperados that is entirely focused on mobile devices, of course. They used statistics to change the way they advertise; in 2015, 30% of Heineken USA’s advertising budget is to be spent on digital platforms.
Whether you’re a global giant like Heineken or a single premise business in Sussex, you cannot escape the amount, and sophistication, of data tools that are currently available. Analytics, statistics, metrics, KPIs, big data – you’ll see these terms in many, if not most, of the articles and posts you’re reading. Google, LinkedIn, Facebook and web analytics packages like KISSmetrics, all have sophisticated programmes and tools that give you metrics that matter – a true picture of your bottom line. If you’re a numbers nerd, you’ll be in your element!
Whether your marketing emphasis is on social media, email marketing or mobile marketing, it’s now easier than ever before to look at website traffic or click-through rates and find beautiful graphs, pie charts and neat rows of numbers shouting out the state of play. However, in plain terms, every graph, pie chart and display of numbers is simply revealing one truth; engagement levels.
Most businesses are becoming more and more data-centric in their decision-making; you might be one of them. Three success metrics are pivotal to most businesses: revenue growth, return on investment and conversion rates, and with so many tools available to provide you with a very detailed analysis of who’s looking at your business you can’t ignore the appeal of looking at the artistic breakdown of facts. The thing is, over analysing is easy; the tools are there and the picture can be clear.
But thinking is not so easy.
It’s what you do with the information that counts. How many businesses actually use this information to make positive changes in the business and then re-measure?
Now, let’s throw a figure out there. I’m sure there’s a tool that could provide me with a beautiful bar chart, but I’m suggesting it should be a 1:5 ratio; for every one hour you spend looking at how many people have viewed your profile on LinkedIn, you should spend another five hours actually improving your profile.
For every one hour you spend looking at Google’s analysis of how much traffic your website enjoyed last month, you should spend another five hours improving your website.
Many businesses have been blinded by the overuse of the word ‘metrics’. Measurement is critical, there is no denying that, but all of the spread sheets and bar charts in the world are rendered pointless unless you actually do something with them!
Here’s a five-point checklist for using metrics to make a REAL difference in your bottom line:
- Analyse the data and develop a three-tiered action plan; immediate changes, monthly changes and yearly changes/ improvements.
- Make it clear who is responsible for implementing the changes.
- Invest in the changes – if the statistics show that your website has an extremely low click through rate, employ the services of a design company that has the skills to develop a brilliant website.
- Follow up; set dates for future followups and use metrics to hopefully show the incredible improvements!
- Be prepared to change direction. If you are a ‘head in the sand’ dinosaur who thinks you know what is best, don’t bother with metrics. You won’t change direction anyway. Be fully prepared to drop your own views and ideas as to what is best and FOLLOW THE DATA!
