LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR VISITORS TO OPTIMIZE FUTURE COMMUNICATIONS
The concept of the marketing funnel predates the digital revolution. In fact, an early model of the customer’s journey that progressed from awareness to interest to desire to action was first advanced at the turn of the 20th century.
Today, automated marketing, online tracking systems, and predictive algorithms are refining and drastically expanding the classic funnel model. When using these powerful tools, it can be easier to focus your efforts on getting the right eyes and ears on your message, imparting the proper emotions and motivations, and spurring action. In fact, the entire funnel concept has been updated in recent years with the flywheel model, which describes a virtuous cycle of growth, rather than a linear path.
Regardless of the framework, every marketing strategy starts somewhere. In the world of digital marketing, that first action usually comes in the form of a click. But, as in most worthwhile endeavors, true success often requires substantial follow through. That first click is hard won, but until a true conversion takes place, that potential customer or lead is still just that, a possible victory.
Mastering Post-click Marketing
The vast majority of clicks never lead anywhere at all. According to several studies, 98-percent of visitors to your website don’t immediately convert into a lead. Wouldn’t you like to know what’s stopping them from taking the next step?
That’s where post-click marketing comes into play. As the name implies, it refers to practices undertaken after achieving a click that analyze users’ behavior. It takes into account everything that led them to make that click in the first place and reaches out accordingly in a targeted and customized manner.
“The race for data has made web-analytics and dashboards for collecting and evaluating informational hauls standard practice for even the most basic websites, email campaigns, and apps.”
There’s a lot of information buried in a humble click. Ferreting it out leads to the actionable insights that improve sales and marketing results by increasing conversion rates and dissuading potential customers and leads from defecting.
Every time a user clicks a display ad, an email link, a social media post, or just about anything online, they are leaving a trail of digital breadcrumbs. Just like in the real world, knowing where someone has been goes a long way in understanding where they are headed.
Capturing and interpreting their path through your online environments is a huge component in building a profile that can inform future interactions. Like the funnel model, this type of behavioral marketing has benefited massively from digitization.
Put Your Data to Good Use
On a scale never before imagined, users are rapidly tracked and analyzed to establish personas that are then segmented into different content and communication channels based on their various interests, needs, and demographics.
Marketing today is analytics driven and just about everyone has come to see the inherent value of data, with many analogizing it to gold or oil in an increasingly online-dominated, service-heavy economy (i.e. a precious resource that is propelling a rush of aspirants).
“That first click is hard won, but until a true conversion takes place, that potential customer or lead is still just that, a possible victory.”
The race for data has made web-analytics and dashboards for collecting and evaluating informational hauls standard practice for even the most basic websites, email campaigns, and apps. More advanced marketers also exploit third-party sources to supplement their own data collection programs.
Cross-referencing the IP address of a visitor to your website with another data repository can reveal information you might be lacking, such as the name and location of the person or company linked to that address. That’s all valuable information that can then be used to better tailor landing pages and content to their specific characteristics.
When Times are Tough, Optimize
The conversion story rarely ends at the first click. Gathering all the facts and using it to optimize your communications and follow up can mean the difference between an abandoned cart and a completed transaction or, a half-filled out form that never gets submitted and a solid new lead. In both cases, you want to do all you can and use all resources (data) at your disposal to convert prospects to leads and, ultimately, to customers.
With pressure growing to push marketing harder with smaller budgets, these tools of data extraction and analysis are only becoming more important and are already separating the digital marketing leaders from those who can’t keep up.
Is your online presence built to follow users past the first click? If you are interested in creating or expanding your data tools take a look at our Digital Experience today.