EngNet Newsletter 5 of 6 : Using Statistics for Successful Online Marketing.
Have you ever seen a fly buzzing against a window trying to get out of a
house? Why does the fly continually battle against a window pane when the nearby
door is wide open?
Have you ever been in a situation where you feel a little
trapped? You know
what you want but you just can't seem to get there. You think to yourself "if
I keep up the hard work surely I will achieve my goal". No matter
how much effort the fly extends in to flying through the window pane, it just isn't
going to happen.
Sometimes I think we work like the fly does. We buzz against
a pane of
glass, we can see our goal but we aren't getting any closer to achieving it.
Why buzz against a window when there is no where to go and experience
frustration at the same time? If we just
take a step back and survey the situation, we would be able to see an open door
that we can easily walk through. The moral of the story is, look at the situation from a different angle and you might find
there is a open door waiting.
What has this got to do with statistics on a website? Statistics can help
to show you where an open door is. Statistics can point out a different angle to what
you are currently undertaking, with statistics you are no longer buzzing against a
window. You can stand back and look at what is happening on your website
and walk through an open door. You therefore make an informed decision.
In the early days of EngNet's development I would get incredibly
frustrated. I kept asking myself "what
should I do to reach my goal?" I would psyche myself up and work harder,
determined that extra effort would result in a break through. The actual result
was exhaustion and frustration, I was still not much closer to achieving my goal.
After I had recovered from
all the effort I had put in, I would look closely at the situation (the window).
I
could see my goal through the window but why wasn't I reaching it? Again I
thought "I must not be working hard enough" so in with some more hard work.
When evaluating a situation you need to know what your position is at
any stage. For instance, when planning your business you would look back
at the previous years sales figures and income, to help project sales for the
forthcoming year. For many companies the feeling is that marketing is a necessary
evil, on many instances they are not sure what
marketing is working for them.
When it comes to considering your website as part of your planning, I'm sure that many
of you are in the dark about the past years' performance. Having a website is
unlike traditional advertising in that you can accurately measure the
performance of your website. Your planning takes on a whole new angle when you
have detailed statistics, they will illustrate the reasons why you are not
reaching your goal. Now you can stand back from the window and realise there is a
barrier holding you back.
Let me not waste time trying to force the issue but let's look at
the alternatives. Firstly you can either open the window, or secondly you can take
the broader
view and walk out the nearby door. Therefore you have
2 options: open the window or walk through the door.
I know I know, I have taken this analogy a bit far, but
lets say opening the window
represents taking another look at your website with a new perspective. Ask what
you can do to remove the invisible barrier in order to make your website a success.
To open the window, you can attempt to do it yourself through the following:
To open the door, a different approach needs to be taken:
- Fire your existing website designer:
If you have a wonderfully designed website that does not bring you any or
little traffic and sales, you need to hire someone that will get you results. There are many website designers out there who can
design a website, but many do not know how to make that website work.
It is imperative that a website designer implement an online promotional
campaign in order to ensure the website's success, or the website will
simply gather dust.
- Hire a reputable website design company:
Hire the services of an experienced website designer/marketer with a proven track record
of clients who have already attained successful results. Ensure they install a good
statistics system that will also allow you, the client, access to in order
for you to measure its success.
- Ask EngNet to evaluate your website:
Having read our newsletter 'statistics series' of emails, you should have a
good idea of how to obtain results from your website. If you need some
help, just talk to us and we will look at how we can help you as we have the
necessary experience to advise you accordingly.
In a nutshell, refrain from hitting the window by
evaluating your website's statistics. Consider the alternatives and take a
fresh approach by either opening the window or walking through the door, you
will be pleasantly surprised at the results.
>> Don't have a statistics system? Go to www.engnetglobal.com/tips/stats.aspx
>> Would like assistance in optimising your website to improve sales? Email
sales@engnetglobal.com
>> Would like to receive the previous 4 EngNet Statistics newsletters?
email mcooney@engnetglobal.com
Kind Regards
Michael Cooney
Email - mcooney@engnetglobal.com
EngNet - www.engnetglobal.com | www.engnet.co.uk | www.engnet.co.za
