As we’ve discussed previously on the blog, monthly Campaign Scorecards and weekly Activity Reports are great ways to tie agency activities to metrics that matter.
By housing all metrics in one place, account teams can more readily see what is working, and develop real-time strategies based on campaign performance. In addition, clients gain a better understanding of the value your agency brings to the table, and how you’re helping them meet real business goals.
But, what is the source of this data? In short, a wide variety of platforms. This is what makes having a centralized dashboard that much more vital. To get you started, below is a sampling of the tools we use to evaluate client campaigns.
Note: This is not a comprehensive list; please share your favorite analytics tools in the comments section.
Website Analytics Software
Website analytics software, like Google Analytics (free), Webtrends and HubSpot, gives you an in-depth look into site performance. All you need to do is add a Javascript tracking code to your website pages.
With a tracking solution in place, you gain access to site traffic and source data, engagement metrics, content and landing page insight, and much more.
Note: At a minimum, all sites should at least have Google Analytics installed, in order to benchmark and track performance over time. For more advanced reporting, a paid solution may be required.
Webmaster Tools
Google and Bing both offer free Webmaster Tools that give you insight into exactly how they crawl and read your site. Like Google Analytics, we recommend setting these up on all sites you manage to better understand the overall health of the site, incoming links, search queries, etc.
Marketing Automation Software
Marketing automation software gives you more detailed information on leads, quality scores, advanced site analytics (such as a/b testing), and user behavior. Top leaders in this space include HubSpot, Marketo and Pardot (recently acquired by ExactTarget).
Social Media Profiles & Management Solutions
Basic social metrics (i.e. likes, followers) can be found simply by looking up the client’s profile on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other sites.
However, engagement metrics, such as mentions or RTs, typically require a social media monitoring or management solution to gather efficiently. There are an endless amount of vendors in this space, but some of our favorites include: Sprout Social, HootSuite and Radian6.
Email Service Providers
If email marketing is a core component of your client’s campaigns, then you’ll want to dig into their ESP to find information on subscribers, email open rates, click through rates and unsubscribes.
We use Mailchimp, but other solutions include ExactTarget, Constant Contact and Campaign Monitor.
Call Tracking Software
Not everybody that comes to a client’s site fills out a contact form, some people may pick up a phone and call. To track and understand these leads, you need to implement a call tracking solution, like Mongoose Metrics or RingRevenue.
Essentially, these software solutions assign a unique phone number to each site visitor. This allows marketers to better understand offline conversions, giving a more holistic view of performance.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems
With an integrated CRM system, marketing and sales can become more aligned. This way, you can close the loop and tie marketing activities to prospects and sales. In doing so, you’re able to offer clients insight into items like cost per lead/prospect/sale and conversion rates. Popular CRMs include Salesforce, Highrise and SugarCRM.
Hint: The more you’re able to link your marketing activities to real business results, the more the client will see you as a strategic business partner and valuable resource.
Related Resource
Check out Session 2 of the Client Services Series on-demand for a detailed overview of how to build a customized marketing performance dashboard.
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