Imagine losing your job, not because of a measurable failure, but because of a miscommunication about what actually constitutes success.
We’ve seen it happen.
It’s why we stress the need to define and measure “success” as part of any website project. Without proper alignment of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) among CEOs, CMOs and all team members, you’re merely hoping to get lucky. Worst case scenario, you could cause lasting harm to your brand.
Here’s how to make sure you have a clear picture of strategy and success—and that your whole team is on the same page.
Maximize the Metrics that Matter
First and foremost, know this: there’s no one-size-fits-all for what constitutes success. What’s considered a success to one industry, organization, or digital tool may be irrelevant to another.
It’s like trying to compare the careers of a basketball player and a hockey player. Each is successful by their own right, but only depending on whether you’re measuring baskets or goals.
A limited-access sales tool for B2B organizations is likely to be focused on conversion and engagement metrics. On the other hand, a food blog should prioritize reach and impressions to get as many eyeballs as possible. Swapping the two would be about as fair as judging a basketball player for their slap shot.
For some organizations, it’s about broader visibility via search (SEO) and driving prospects through the sales funnel. For others, it’s about optimizing spend to reach and convert the perfect persona. And sometimes success can mean garnering attention for a “show piece” at a trade show or optimizing a self-service tool and gathering as much meta information as possible.
Mapping Your Approach
A discovery session can be a good starting point. This process involves a series of workshops aimed at reviewing your digital presence and overarching brand, strategizing to address your unique needs, and charting a course for your future.
Regardless of the end goal, you and your team should align on objectives before the project even begins.
We have a combination of documents that we provide, like questionnaires, to supplement discovery workshops and research into existing systems and data you may have. After getting a full understanding of what is needed and possible, we ensure that we have the right tools and platforms in place to measure success.
Here are some of the ways you can continually measure success:
- Heat Maps: Heat maps like Hotjar help you find out what people do on your website with a visual representation of clicks, scrolling behavior, and more.
- Google Analytics: Google Analytics can help you understand how your customers behave while providing insights into website performance, traffic, and campaign performance.
- Custom Analytics Tools: If needed, Makeway can help custom-build logging and tracking methods for you – and even provide you with a custom dashboard to analyze it all.
- Integrate with CRM and Ad Platforms: Your existing CRM and ad platforms should be key tools for measuring the impact of your next digital project.
- Cookies: Many ecommerce websites rely heavily on cookies for targeting, retargeting, and personalization (btw, here’s what to know about Chrome’s removal of 3rd-party cookies).
The effort continues even after the website or digital tool is launched.
Users don’t just appear out of thin air and just because you build it doesn’t mean someone will come. Getting traffic to the website is a whole other ballgame— one that involves a comprehensive strategy tailored to drive and engage your customers with a legitimate intent. (Side note: If you need this, Makeway’s diverse range of digital experience services might be a good fit.)
Taking the First Step
At Makeway, we’re dedicated to building the right creative solutions that deliver real, quantifiable value.
We design and build to meet the unique needs of our clients, so your custom solution goes hand-in-hand with tailored metrics. The success of your website or digital tool can be measured in many ways, and we can help you make sense of those metrics.
Not sure where to get started? You can begin by assessing your existing customer touchpoints… Do you have metrics in place? Would all your team members agree on the most important metrics for success? How are those metrics looking?
Whether you’re ready to kick off your next project or just need a consultation about measuring success, we’re here to help you maximize the metrics that matter.
Reach us today at [email protected].
