PM360 Digital Compendium March 2011

Online Metrics: It's More Than Just Clicks

By Benjamin Curtis, Digital Strategist, MicroMass Communications

Measuring a sustained change in behavior online isn’t just about tracking clicks and time on site to serve a more compelling advertisement or communication. It’s about leveraging interactions to identify and segment your audience and subsequently provide them with a message that changes their behavior when they step away from the computer.

The changes we’re looking for need to occur when they are making a purchase decision or during those pivotal conversations with their physicians.

Initiating, continually influencing, and then tracking this online to offline behavior is not an easy task. There is a constant stream of new tools to accomplish all three of these, but deep down we know, in that stack of existing campaigns, tools, and reports, there is a gold nugget of information if only we could figure out how to use it.

Here are a few tips for addressing each of the three stages, regardless of the technology you use:

Initiating a behavior change is only the beginning. A single web-page or Facebook post may change the direction a patient takes during an online session, but it’s not likely to change their behavior offline over time, especially when you have visitors arriving at different points during their diagnosis continuum. Ensure your online assets contain communications about all stages of the decision-making process so that for all types of user, and each time they come back, the site takes them one step closer to your product.

Influencing over time requires true interaction. The web is a dynamic place, and no longer a world of static copy. Pictures and videos can say a thousand words, so try not to speak through copy alone when you can show, or even ask, through visuals. Consider how using behavioral techniques such as an interactive testimonial that uses Motivational Interviewing may have more effect than multiple static web pages full of detailed copy. And remember consumers are not always going to be on your web properties, so find ways to interact with them during the normal course of their digital life. For instance, networks such as Yahoo Advertising provide ways to supply consumers with messages based on what they viewed on WebMD while they read the news or check e-mail.

Keeping things simple is the key to tracking. Just because technology is getting more complicated doesn’t mean our methods of tracking have to. Consider the tools already at your disposal and what can be done with them before jumping to a new product or service that claims to have better behavioral tracking features. For example, don’t feel the need to do a pre/post site survey to determine if visitors are consumers of your brand when you could simply use navigation points such as “5 Things to Know Once Prescribed Product X” as a proxy.

Whatever path you take towards creating a sustained behavioral change in customers, keep the three steps in mind: 1) Initiating, 2) Influencing, and 3) Tracking. Setting up goals and assigning tactical executions against each will help ensure a positive long-term change in behavior.

Benjamin's extensive background spans many markets, including pharmaceutical, financial, and Internet technologies. As chief digital strategist, he applies digital solutions to client market needs, insures online avenues meet those needs, and keeps clients up-to-date on the latest technologies and digital trends. Contact him at: ben.curtis@micromass.com.