In the current economy budgets are tight, so marketers must maximize the return on every dollar spent. As such, marketing initiatives need to be extremely targeted and have measurable results that are beyond debate.

This is where offline marketing often falls short and online marketing excels. With offline marketing, management typically relies on estimates and educated guesses to determine results. For example, "our magazine ad was seen by approximately 25,000 people and, based on the magazine’s readership profile, approximately 5,000 of them are people that use our products and have buying authority." That’s not good enough.

Online marketing produces facts: The number of people who saw the ad, how many times each person viewed it, whether they took action – clicked-through -- or whether they made a purchase, signed up for the newsletter, etc., are clearly visible in the data.

Some online marketing initiatives are offered on a performance-based pricing model. That model guarantees marketers are receiving value. A company wants their target group to read a specific message, so it runs a pay-per-click campaign and directs the customer to a customized landing page where a personalized offer is made. Those actions can all be tracked and reported.

With today’s tools, we can tell you who clicked-through, as well as who didn't and when they left the site. Those hard facts provide clear accountability and a feedback loop that can be used to improve future campaigns. It is a virtuous cycle that leads to increased interaction, better customer relationships, and a known return on your investment.

Steve