Any good marketer understands the value of analyzing data to maximize the ROI of a digital marketing campaign. Creating key performance indicators allows you to measure the success of your current campaign and helps you determine ways it can be improved. Good KPIs should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound so they can effectively quantify the data you need to determine if your current digital marketing strategy is working.
While KPIs are important for any type of digital marketing strategy, they are particularly beneficial for franchise businesses that rely on localized content to share the same products and services from customers in separate locations. Instilling the following KPIs into your franchise business to optimize your digital marketing strategy to grow your business.
General KPIs
The goal of every business is to maximize its sales. You’ll have to allocate funding to your digital marketing strategy to drive sales, but you should ask yourself the following questions to determine if your current strategy is actually benefiting the company.
- How many leads in the company generating each day and how can that number be improved?
- How many leads result in sales?
- How much does it cost to generate each lead and what is the ROI?
Lead Generation
To maximize traffic to your franchise’s website, you need to entice consumers to visit your webpage by creating content that draws them in. There are many types of leads, including:
- Social media leads: Potential customers are directed to your website by ads or content from sites such as Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
- Direct leads: Customers visit your site directly by typing your URL.
- Referral leads: Customers are referred to your site through external links on third-party pages.
- Paid leads: Paid advertisements on third-party sites direct customers to your franchise’s webpage.
- Organic leads: Customers find your site by using a search engine.
Conversion Rate
This KPI measures how many of your leads result in sales. If the conversion rate is high, you should continue with your current strategy and keep tracking progress. If the conversion rate is low, you need to consider that your current marketing strategy may not be targeting your niche audience.
Cost Per Lead
To ensure your digital marketing strategy is effective, you need to divide the number of generated leads by the cost of your advertising budget. It may be time to reevaluate your strategy if it costs too much to generate each lead. You want to be generating as many leads as possible for the least amount of money.
Social Media KPIs
Social media is a great way to generate leads and promote brand awareness, but you need to know how effective it is if you want to use it as part of a digital marketing campaign. The answers to the following questions will determine if your social media campaign is an effective strategy for your company.
- How many people is the company reaching on social media?
- How many people are actively engaging with the company’s brand?
Reach
Statistics show that nearly 3.5 billion people use social media, meaning that a campaign across multiple platforms could be incredibly beneficial for your company. Implementing a KPI that measures reach will let you know how many social media users are actually aware of your company’s campaign.
Engagement
Engagement differs from reach because instead of monitoring awareness, it focuses on interaction. A KPI focusing on engagement lets you know how many social media users are viewing, sharing and commenting on your brand, giving you a more accurate depiction of brand awareness. A high engagement rate allows you to see how positive your brand image is and ensures your current strategy is working.
Website KPIs
This type of KPI is especially important for franchise businesses because it measures the success of each separate landing page. Each location will have its own page and analyzing the data will allow you to see how individual page is functioning in comparison to other sites within the same franchise.
Pages Per Visit
This KPI gives you a better understanding of how customers engage with franchise websites. However, it is important to note that this KPI does not offer significant data on its own. A high rate could either mean that customers are thoroughly engaged with the site or that they can’t find the information they need. For this reason, you need to attach this KPI to others within the same category to get accurate results.
Average Time On Page
The more time potential customers spend on your website, the more likely it is that they will purchase your products. If customers are spending a significant amount of time browsing products and then making a purchase, then they find your site engaging. On the other hand, if they spend a lot of time searching for a specific item and can’t find it, they are not engaged with your site, so this KPI alone could lead to skewed results. It should be measured in conjunction with other KPIs regarding the website.
Bounce Rate
You want your website to attract people, but if your ads are targeting the wrong audience, you may have a high bounce rate, which is the number of people who visit your site without making a purchase. If your bounce rate is high, try implementing a KPI that focuses on keeping customers engaged for a certain amount of time while browsing your site.
Customer KPIs
Customers are the reason your company exists, so you need to acquire and retain as many as possible for the lowest cost. The answers to the following questions have a direct impact on your company’s success.
- How many existing customers is the company retaining and how many new leads are resulting in sales?
- How much is the company spending to acquire each customer?
Retention Rate
Studies show that previous customers are more likely to purchase your products or services than new consumers. This is because, having used and enjoyed your brand before, they know what to expect from a repeat purchase. Because they are more likely to recommend products to friends, repeat customers are vital for the success of any business. New consumers are important, too, but without repeat business, a company can’t thrive. Strive to retain as many customers as possible with engaging content.
Cost of Customer Acquisition
Companies thrive when they attract new clients in addition to retaining old ones, but you need to justify the cost of your advertising budget to ensure customer acquisition is cost-efficient. Divide your budget by the number of new customers you acquire to determine how much it costs to earn each consumer. If the cost is too high, you need to reevaluate your strategy to see how you can get the same results for less money.
Where A Digital Marketing Team Steps In
Setting proper KPIs help to determine the effectiveness of digital marketing campaigns. While there is an endless number of possible KPIs that can help businesses thrive, these listed above are especially beneficial for franchise businesses. V Digital Services uses these KPIs to help franchise business owners maximize potential and get the most out of their digital marketing campaigns. Contact us today to discuss your franchise’s individual needs and let us help you determine which KPIs are best suited to help your business reach its full potential.
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