Towards a Better Understanding of Marketing Performance Across Multiple Channels

Dr. Florian Heinemann, CEO at Rocket Internet talked about the challenges of efficient marketing in multiple channels, with particular reference to those working in the e-commerce field.

Rocket Internet invests in many diverse Internet companies, and acts as a Business Angel from the start up stage right through to maturity. In his talk at NEXT 2011, Dr. Florian Heinemann, CEO at Rocket Internet GmbH, talked about the challenges of efficient marketing across multiple channels, with particular reference to those working in the e-commerce field.

Today, Internet marketing is more challenging than ever before, as it goes much further than simply creating SEM, SEO or price comparison functionality.
Companies need to start by evaluating the different channels that are used for marketing. For instance, there is the traditional model known as “last cookie counts” which neglects the prior contacts a user has had with a site, and focuses solely on each new contact.

An outdoor, POS or TV advertisement may not appear to be performing as well as other channels at first glance. But this hides that fact that it takes at least three to four customer contacts before a purchase decision is made. To evaluate the different channels correctly, it is important to consider all the different stages down the purchase funnel. If you advertise through multiple channels, you have to look at the entire customer journey.

This is the theory, but differences in operational tracking systems like AdServer or AdWords tend to complicate matters. For example, contacts reached are counted differently in each system. Another problem is how to attribute them as unique contacts. Heinemann believes a valid approach is to investigate the intensity of contacts and where the contact is positioned in the purchase funnel. It is also important to observe the buying behaviour of your clients over a certain time, because if you improve your Customer Relationship Management, the Customer Lifetime Value will improve accordingly.

For an overview you need reliable data for all marketing channels in one central system. This requires quite a complex structure, which is why Heinemann recommends the installation of a suitable organisational unit to track and analyse this data – preferably just after the start up stage.