At a recent gathering of marketing execs, I informally polled the group on how they were measuring Online Marketing effectiveness. It seems that metrics are not keeping pace with our new reality.
The majority are using web analytics tools, like Google Analytics and Omniture, to track page views and navigation paths. About a quarter are working with a social media agency, or using a social media platform (like HubSpot) for tracking. But hardly anyone is using CRM to track lead-to-sale metrics (like Google AdWords for Salesforce). And some are using no tracking at all.
It's true that many of us need to use a hodgepodge of tools to keep on top of our programs (I use Google Analytics, LeadLander and Salesforce, along wtih Google AdWords for Salesforce), and it's no fun to spend more time number crunching results than generating leads in the first place. But if Marketing remains a nebulous science, we're not doing ourselves any favors by avoiding metrics altogether.
