Online Marketing: Calculating Your ROI

For years, measuring a company’s Return on Investment, or ROI, usually happens after an event, such as a sale or regrouping. When it comes to large-scale sales such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, ROI is typically calculated after the holiday season, to see how marketing and advertising played an impact on earnings from sale ventures.

However, this calculation can be rudimentary. Even without advertising, some consumers are brand specific from the outset. Perhaps their sister or cousin has a certain type of television, and this consumer is committed to purchasing that television. Word of mouth can’t be calculated. With events like these it is exceedingly difficult to base ROI on one sale’s advertising alone.

Making the switch to a more efficient way of measuring ROI may take some time and doing, but looking at it from a more statistical approach is much more beneficial in the long run. It is a good idea to get all of your data in a row.  Preparing data is paramount to the end calculation, therefore rules of thumb should be established here. You cannot give all credit to the last point of interaction, without considering interaction before a purchase is made.

Experimenting can also be beneficial, especially when it comes to online advertising. Once a core ROI has been calculated, try experimenting with differing types of advertising to see if it makes a difference. For example, try one sale with banner ads, and one without. It is also a good idea to apply solid and proven statistical models to your research, using tools such as Google Analytics, call tracking, adwords reporting, CRM reporting, etc..  Implementing and utilizing the proper tools and software is truly the best way to get the most accurate results.

Lastly, expand your analysis scope. All touch points have to be considered, as well as all points of interaction, doing your best to exclude anything that could lead to a faulty evaluation.

When you need the best in marketing with measured results, look no further than the Top Marketing Agency. For help calculating your ROI, or building your brand online, give us a call today at (888)843-9840 to learn more about how we can help expand your business.