How many of us heard from someone that* “beauty is only skin deep”*? Well, yes I am sure very many of us and why did we hear this? The goal was that humanity would look beyond what they saw and learned more about each other. As cliche as it sounds, we were hearing very sound advice applicable on several levels. This very piece of advice carries over to data, metrics and analytics. It’s imperative that we look below the surface and learn as much as we can about our data.

For purposes of an example, let’s say that on Saturday afternoon, you ran an email campaign testing out 2 subject lines. First thing Monday morning, you have a look to check out the results of your campaign.

Here are some key thoughts to keep in mind:

1. What was the goal of the campaign?

Why is the goal important? The overall goal of the campaign will determine the approach to reviewing the metrics and results. While having the full picture of how the campaign performed is helpful, analyzing the metrics and results focused around the goal will drive a deeper analysis of the campaign.

In the example of the email campaign, the goal of the campaign was purchases. Which subject line better led to the purchase? How will looking at open rate, click through rate and purchases help determine this?

2. What do these metrics mean?

Understanding what the metrics are portraying will help to better analyze the numbers in front of you. Just looking at the numbers and percentages without fully understanding exactly what they represent means they are just numbers and a decision based on them is difficult, if not impossible.

Let’s go back to the example:

Open rate: The open rate is tied directly to the subject line. This is calculated by taking the number of individuals that opened the email out of the amount of subscribers that received the email.

Click through rate: The click through rate is tied directly to the email template. While the subject line has a significant effect on this, the template and it’s design helps to guide where the user will click. This is calculated by taking the number of clicks over the amount of individuals that received the email.

Purchases: Purchases are the amount of completed purchases that started from the customer journey of receiving the email, opening the email, clicking on the email and making the purchase.

3. What am I going to do with these metrics?

Analyzing the results is key. Digital marketing is constantly evolving and growing, and this also includes the approach to campaigns. When reviewing and analyzing metrics, looking at what will be executed in the FUTURE BASED ON THE RESULTS is also important to keep in mind. Always look at how these results can be used. If not, you are just running campaigns to run campaigns and chances are efficiency and efforts are being wasted.

Ok, back to the email example:

So there was an email campaign sent out on a Saturday with 2 separate subject lines. After reviewing the open rate, click through rate, and purchases - Subject line A was the clear winner with a better open rate and more purchases. The click through rate was about the same for each version. At a quick analysis, it seems that the subject line stuck in the subscriber’s mind as they went through the journey and was more likely to make the purchase.

4. What’s next?

In a constantly changing digital marketing landscape, analysis and looking below the surface are the key to a successful campaign. Keeping the 4 questions in mind during any analysis and then planning for what’s next will help any campaign succeed.

Meteor Affinity consistently looks beyond the vanity - feel good - metrics and gets right down to the nitty gritty, ensuring that campaigns are executed in the most efficient way possible.

To learn more about other marketing agencies, check out: https://www.designrush.com/agency/digital-marketing