I’m working on a 2008 marketing plan for work. Below is just one strategy of many. The days of branding, awareness type marketing is over. It is all about ROI and cost per acquisition. How much are you willing to pay for a lead or customer? From there, break it down and determine the appropriate message and strategy to get there and track, track, track all your communication efforts.
Strategy: create unique identifier on all marketing campaigns to track effectiveness of all communication.
1. Tactic 1: All space ads will contain a unique URL. For example, www.keystonesymposia.org/nature will be used for space ads in the Nature Journal.
2. Tactic 2: All direct email campaigns will contain a unique URL. For example, www.keystonesymposia.org/7X7 will be used for the registration email announcement for the HIV Vaccines campaign to our internal HIV list. Separate URLs will be created for registration, abstract deadline and scholarship emails. Distinct URLs will be developed for mailing lists acquired from outside sources.
3. Tactic 3: All direct mail campaigns will contain a unique URL. For example, www.keystonesymposia.org/X7 will be used for the registration direct mail announcement for the HIV Vaccines campaign to our internal HIV list. Separate URLs will be developed for mailing lists acquired from outside sources.
4. Tactic 4: Each unique URL will then be tracked through WebTrends. We will track how many visitors are coming from the specific URL, and their path through the site. This will track all the way through registration. This will allow us to evaluate ROI on all communication pieces.
5. Tactic 5: All direct email will also be tracked internally with our email analytics software. We will track opened emails, forwards, as well as following the click from the email to our website, where the WebTrends tracking will begin.
