Not for lack of data – have we struggled to measure the effect of digital ever since the first “hits” were publicised. When it wasn’t repeat visits or time-on-site, it became “trigger” actions. The problem has always been to define which numbers tell us what.
It’s relatively simple if you are an e-commerce business where there is a direct link between action (abandoned shopping cart) and revenue. But for sales through bricks and mortar, where the user is possibly days away from a purchase, the problem still exists: which actions and data points provide a reliable link to attitude and action.
So I am intrigued by P&G’s latest attempts to link engagement with reward. Actually, I am not sure that one size will fit all.
But mobile marketing can add a valuable piece of the puzzle. Imagine how much more accurately we’ll be able to track advertising to sales once we have the location-based analytics mobile marketing promises. Checking product information closer to point of purchase is much more likely to be linked to a sale than 8 minutes playing a game on a desk-bound PC.
Mobile can provide a more meaningful level of analytics to all marketing, whether it’s the poster on Cromwell Road, packaging in store or a banner ad. In giving us the time and place, mobile provides the missing dimension that links marketing to sales – and cements digital a the heart of most intelligent marketing.
Roll on location-based services!