Online marketing is not about ROI

This may sound crazy to you but here is a lesson learned on growing your online business:

Strategic online marketing isn’t about ROI

When looking at the 3 stages of customer research you can see that the goal of your integrated marketing strategy is NOT all about high ROI. The objective of your marketing strategy is getting as many people to stage 3 in a cost effective manner. In the example of the awareness pyramid it is about getting your online customers to the bottom. Being part of the final 3 products or brands shortlisted should be the overriding goal of all your marketing and distribution actives and you can grow this base with solid marketing in the earlier stages of consumer product research.

Obviously you want to do this at an agreed and acceptable level of cost. Marketing to the early stages of customer research will yield significantly lower ROIs than “tactical” marketing in the later stages. But the equation works like this:

“The higher the ROI of your marketing, the lower the volume”

The reverse is also true. But, what people have a tendency of forgetting is:

“Earlier stages of customer research yield higher rates of incremental business”

This marketing strategy is what I would call a “Pull down” strategy, where you are pulling potential customers from the top level of the awareness pyramid down to the glorious level of “top of mind” where conversion rates are much stronger. The ideal method of building awareness of brand and product is targeting the key phases of customer research, being present in the right spots through stages 3 and 2, so that the customer arrives at the natural conclusion that your brand or product should be within his “top of mind” shortlist.

You need to understand your markets awareness levels and be able to categorise them. In doing so you are building a strategic online marketing game plan. You might not realise it but your are also developing a sustainable customer base.