As the market shifts media focus to results-base marketing as seen in the IAB 2008 Interactive Advertising Report, we must continue to look at our individual efforts in the same way. From the search manager, to the display buyer and email marketer, as individuals, your value is in the results you achieve. Overseeing several disciplines, I understand the challenge of measurability, but meeting this challenge will be the key to demonstrating your value to your company or clients.
Before you embark on the effort to place a revenue value on your work, take a step back, and be sure you fully understand how your company, or client, makes money. On the surface, this appears more simplistic than it is. Are your customers transacting on or off-line? Are you driving subscribers and if so, how are they monetized? Is there a life time value equation for your customers? Can you get to the shopping cart value? What are the influencers for the transaction and how does your role affect them? Bottom line, you need to know your company’s business model, and then figure how your efforts fit into it.
Search marketers tend to have a head start in tracking. It has (almost) always been the most efficient online vehicle for most companies and