Marketing For Manufacturers: Key Digital Marketing ROI Metrics
Digital marketing is a necessary component of the advertising strategy for any industry—even those that aren’t B2C—because it affects brand visibility, provides opportunities to reach targeted audiences, and is more cost-effective than traditional advertising methods, like print and radio. Marketing for manufacturers is no different and should involve a digital strategy.
Although digital marketing is a cost-effective option, marketers should still track ROI (return on investment) to promote responsible spending, confirm that their marketing strategies are helping to move the brand forward, and provide better insight into their target market’s behavior. By identifying key digital marketing ROI metrics, marketers can simplify and optimize marketing for manufacturers to achieve the best possible outcome.
Understanding ROI in Digital Marketing for Manufacturers
ROI (return on investment) essentially refers to measuring the success of an advertising campaign. It provides answers to whether it was worth the investment and whether the revenue made from the campaign outweighs the cost of the advertisement. When considering ROI in digital marketing for manufacturers, quantifying results can be simply mathematical and formulaic; however, it is necessary to factor in each campaign element to glean as much information as possible.
The manufacturing industry serves diverse markets with different needs, from B2B to CPG, industrial and commercial markets, and government contracts. Marketing to each market involves holistically evaluating the campaign’s success and the individual campaigns to each unique audience.
Evaluating the success of unique campaigns is essential to determine where marketing dollars should be spent for a solid campaign. It can also help inform investors and stakeholders to make decisions about future investments. So, what key digital marketing ROI metrics should marketers track when marketing for manufacturing?
Key Digital Marketing ROI Metrics to Track
When considering what metrics to track to determine the return on investment, marketers should focus on lead generation, website traffic, customer acquisition cost, and sales growth.
Lead Generation
The B2B manufacturing industry does not have a quick sales cycle, which means that even with the best leads, the time to a sale is long. That is just part of why finding qualified leads is so important. Keeping the sales funnel full of qualified leads is critical to a consistent sales flow. By procuring leads online, manufacturers can create new opportunities to fill the sales cycle. Additionally, through the available data analytics with digital marketing for manufacturers, they can gain valuable insight into critical data points like the number of leads they’re obtaining, how many are converting, and how much each lead costs. All of these data points are relevant and necessary in determining the ROI.
Website Traffic
Knowing how much traffic you drive to your website is also a key metric in assessing ROI. If no one sees your website or your users bouncing, it can tell much about your brand, site, and customer interest. For example, if people spend time on your site but never convert, your calls to action could be weak or an issue with your brand. Conversely, if visits to your site result in a high bounce rate, there is likely an issue with your website. In addition to conversions and bounce rates, you will also want to pay attention to the total traffic, number of unique visitors versus returning visitors, and organic vs. paid traffic. When calculating ROI in marketing for manufacturers, these metrics are essential in understanding your website performance.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Understanding the total cost of acquiring a customer can help you determine roughly how much each customer costs to obtain. Having this information can help you calculate whether your marketing campaigns are operating efficiently or if you need to make adjustments. This cost reflects your marketing expenses divided by the total number acquired.
Sales Growth
Be sure to evaluate your overall sales to see if your digital marketing strategy is impacting your bottom line. Solid attribution is key to identifying which strategy is the most successful, so be sure to stay on top of that as well, especially as there may be several ways to gain a customer. Other key metrics related to sales growth that should be tracked are the average order value and how much your revenue has grown with the implementation of marketing for manufacturers versus without it.
Engagement Metrics
Understanding how your customers interact with your digital content can help you gauge what is attracting attention, keeping attention, and simply getting passed up. When assessing digital performance, marketing for manufacturers is no different than marketing in any other industry. Track key metrics like bounce rate, how long people spend on your site, and how many social media reactions, shares, and comments, including your total reach, to see how successful your engagement is.
Tracking ROI Across Different Digital Marketing Channels
A complete picture of your digital marketing spend is necessary to calculate your return on investment. If specific channels aren’t resonating with your audience, you must evaluate how you’re engaging on that channel or whether it’s worth pursuing. Track the ROI across different digital marketing channels to fully understand whether your marketing efforts for manufacturers are being realized.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is still a critical part of any digital marketing strategy—even as algorithms and technology change, it becomes more refined, not eliminated. If implemented properly, your SEO strategy should help support organic traffic, brand visibility, and local reach. Be sure to follow up on key metrics like page rankings and traffic data to evaluate your ROI for this component of your marketing for manufacturers’ plan.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising
Paid campaigns can be helpful, but you’ll need to evaluate how much of a budget you must spend on this and whether your other marketing channels can support it (your website, socials). A PPC strategy requires regular evaluation, A/B testing, and adjustment to fine-tune its success. PPC is still a solid strategy for many brands, but it is imperative to evaluate your ROI to see if it’s worth it for your manufacturing business.
Email Marketing
Email marketing campaigns are a tried-and-true method of connecting with your target audience, especially if you acquire their information personally. They are an excellent complement to other sales strategies and can help close a sale at a relatively lower cost compared to other digital marketing strategies. Key metrics to pay attention to concerning ROI and the campaign’s success include assembling data to determine how many people opened the email, how many may have clicked on links or interacted with the content, and how many people made a sale or converted based on the email.
Social Media Marketing
Although there was once a point at which marketing for manufacturers didn’t include social media marketing, those times have changed! Manufacturing brands use social media to help establish brand recognition and provide another path of engagement for customers and potential customers. Marketers should keep an eye on follower growth, engagement, and any traffic derived from links shared on social to get an idea of how their social investment is panning out.
Get Expert Help with Digital Marketing for Manufacturers
If the thought of tracking all of these different channels and understanding all of the metrics used in calculating your marketing campaigns’ ROI has your head spinning, don’t worry. Contact Idea Marketing to help you track ROI, optimize spending, and streamline your marketing strategy for success!