The Measurement Marketing Framework
(Episode 2 of 2 with Chris Mercer)
Note: This blog post contains affiliate links for Measurement Marketing.
Welcome back to another episode with Chris Mercer. In the last episode, we discussed three ways we can use measurement marketing in our business processes. Today, we will go over the measurement marketing framework and discuss ways we can listen to our customers.
Key Takeaways
In today’s episode, we will cover the following key takeaways:
- Measuring our data can feel overwhelming. But, if we take one thing at a time and just get good enough to get going, we will be on the path to success.
- The measurement marketing framework is: plan, build, and act.
- Measurement is not a project, it is a process.
- By listening to our data and numbers, we gain insights about our customers’ behaviors that tell us how we can improve our website and brand.
Overcoming the Biggest Obstacles
The biggest obstacles that prevent us from using measurement marketing is that it is overwhelming and frustrating. Technology changes and there are new tools for us to use almost every day. How do we deal with this?
1. Take One Thing at a Time
Instead of trying to master everything at once, we can tackle one thing at a time. “Take just one thing. That’s it. Practice that. [Then,] come back and pick up another one thing,” Chris said.
We don’t have to master every analytics tool there is at once. We don’t have to perfect our measurement marketing plan in one sitting. To get started with measurement marketing, we only need to work on one tool at a time or one concept at a time. This is exactly how Chris and his team at Measurement Marketing help their customers.
“Practice one thing at a time and . . . it just gets better and better,” Chris said.
2. Get Good Enough to Get Going
We don’t have to master a tool or skill to get our marketing strategies rolling. We only need to get good enough. Often when we see what others are doing, we compare ourselves to them and get discouraged. Maybe they are better than we are, but that’s okay.
We should give ourselves permission to be okay with where we are. “We are not complacent. We’re not saying accept where you are and never grow. We’re just saying, accept where you are, and grow from there. . . . [Then] come back and make it better later,” Chris said.
Once we learn the basics of a tool, we can get going. We don’t have to wait to become a master. For example, if Chris handed us the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, we’d be able to read it. But, if he took the book back, ripped out all of the pages, and then asked us to read it, we’d likely say, “I can’t.” However, in reality our ability to read has not changed. We can still read the book. We simply need to put the pages back together before we can use our basic skill.
Chris related this story to Google Analytics. Many people can go to Google Analytics with their basic skills, but feel lost because they don’t know how to coordinate the measurement system with their website. Essentially, they are given a system they have to put together before they can use their skills.
“When you’re first getting started, realize that turning something on, is not the same as setting it up. In order to learn that setup, just get good enough to get going,” Chris said.
The Measurement Marketing Framework
Chris’ measurement marketing framework follows these three steps: Plan, build, and act. The first thing we have to do is create a plan. We want to write down the questions we want answered, decide what information we need, and determine what actions we will take based on the different answers. Essentially, what do we want to measure and why? What type of results do we want to see?
Once we have our plan in place, we can begin to build our website, funnel pages, social media platforms, etc. We should tie our pages into our traffic (where am I getting traffic from? Who are my visitors? Why do they show up to my page). We should tie it into the results we want. And, we should tie it into our story. “How do you stitch those two things together so they naturally tell the story?” Chris asked.
Finally, once our pages are built, we can act. We can begin to read our reports, create dashboards, and start to forecast. “Now you know how the market reacts with your site, how your marketing works, and then when you know how your marketing works, you can then start to forecast,” Chris said. “Instead of looking in the rearview mirror all the time saying what happened last week, you start looking and saying, ‘Here’s what’s going to happen to the $1,000 I’m going to give Facebook next week.’”
Once we know our benchmarks, we can adjust our goals, plan again accordingly, and optimize. Everytime we go through this framework, our marketing strategies, our websites, our brands, will all get better.
The companies that don’t do this framework well, are the ones that think measurement is a one and done project. Measurement is not a project, it is a process. It is a department. We always have to be listening to our customers and remember that numbers aren’t just numbers, they are our customers.
Listening To Our Customers
As we discussed in the last episode, measurement marketing is about listening to our customers. Through our data and numbers, we gain insights about our customers’ behaviors that tell us how we can improve our website and brand.
At Measurement Marketing, they have specific dashboards that help them keep track of all their important measurements. Generally speaking, 10% of the people who see their offer page go to their cart, and then 40% of them will complete their purchase. If something changes, they will notice it right away on their dashboard and then go in and try to fix it.
One day when they went in after they made some changes to their webpage, they found that 30% of people were going to the cart, but only 20% were purchasing. They went in and asked themselves, “What’s the story behind this?”
After some research, they found that they forgot to put the price of their products on the page. So, their customers were putting a product in a cart to view the price, and then going back to the main page to see if it was really what they wanted. Essentially, they had visitors going to the cart without the intention of buying. Once they knew this, Chris could go back in and fix it.
Chris helped take one of his clients through a similar process at Measurement Marketing. The client wasn’t getting the numbers they wanted so they went and asked, “What’s the story here?” They found that customers were providing their shipping addresses, but then not following through with the purchase. Why would a customer give their personal information if they didn’t want to buy the product?
After doing some research, they found that it went back to the expectation engine concept. “There was a disconnect between the shipping and they weren’t ready for payment,” Chris said. “They hadn’t expected it.”
So, they went in and added a point of friction. After the customer put in their shipping information, they added a processing wheel with a single message, “We are reserving your trial.” Then, it would load to the payment screen. This set up the right expectations and helped fix things. Soon, the client’s conversion numbers improved.
How can we uncover problems like this within our own websites? The key is to listen to our customers. If Chris or his client weren’t paying attention to the data and measurements, they never would have found the problem. Next, we should think, ““How would this work in the real world and how can I mimic it online?” When we do this, our chances of success will likely increase.
Connect with Chris
Thank you so much Chris for sharing your stories and insights with us today. To learn more about or connect with Chris:
Next Steps
- Get a free ebook about passion marketing, and learn how to become a top priority of your ideal customers at PassionMarketing.com.
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