Analysing Marketing Campaign Performance

Marketing has become much more data-centric in the past decade, making it easier to determine the effectiveness of individual campaigns. However, effective campaign analysis requires focusing on some core performance-centric aspects.

The following are the core elements you need to consider when analysing marketing campaign performance:

1. Identify all Campaign Channels

Most marketing campaigns leverage several channels to ensure their message disperses as much as possible among the target audience. Some of the top channels are:

• Television
• Print
• Website
• Social Media
• Search

Each channel mentioned above requires a different strategy based on its operational dynamics. Therefore, you need to identify and categorize them to organize campaign performance data.

2. Determine KPIs for Traditional Marketing

Traditional marketing includes print, broadcast, billboards, calls, etc. Each type within this category has separate KPIs, and you need to list all to ensure you know which data you need to collect. For example, for broadcast, you’d likely get numbers for the total number of viewers during prime time/morning. 

For print, you’ll need to record the number of people who received the newspaper or magazine where the campaign ads were published. Similarly, you’ll need to mention which KPIs you’ll measure.

3. Determine KPIs for Digital Marketing

Just like traditional marketing, digital marketing also has its respective KPIs depending on the platform or channel you’re considering. For example, social media KPIs include views, clicks, reach, impressions, etc.

Similarly, search KPIs include SERP, CPC, CPA, etc. You will need to prioritize optimizing your information, website, and other search-related aspects based on industry standards. SEO is a core tool in this equation dependent on website content, meta details, content relevance, keyword usage, etc.

4. Track Conversion

Conversion isn’t always the primary objective but is always a positive add-on to the actual goal. So, track your conversions for the campaign duration and see if they are higher than the projected numbers. An increase in conversions is a welcome response and will amplify your report.

5. Assess Actual vs Planned Results

Most marketers define expected outcomes when presenting marketing campaign plans, and they play a critical role in determining if the idea gets approved. Once the campaign is over, conduct a thorough review of the results and record the numbers.

Compare the actual numbers you received to the planned results during campaign analysis. The less the difference between the two, the better it is. However, a significant difference indicates either of two possibilities:

• The plan wasn’t strong enough, and the predictions were overestimated.
• The plan was solid, but something went wrong with the implementation.

It would help if you determined the true reason for the business to explore and improve it.

6. Keep Analysis as Data-Centric as Possible

Analyses are the most actionable when they are data-centric. We thankfully exist in a time where nearly all performance-related factors can be assigned a numeric value to make them easier to evaluate. Take advantage of this provision and use data to understand the reality of campaign performance.

A successful campaign is, of course, ideal. However, there are times when your results will fall short. Take it as a learning opportunity, and you’ll be able to achieve much better results.

Top Marketing KPIs for Measuring Campaign Performance

A workable marketing campaign always has a clear objective that it aims to achieve. This objective determines which tools and channels you will utilize and the strategies you will consider. Your objectives will also determine your KPIs to give direction for performance measurement.

1. Audience Reach 

Audience reach is one of the most common KPIs and is standard for awareness-based campaigns. In marketing, reach is the total number of people who have seen a brand’s ad. Televisions determine it by getting several viewers at the time of ad broadcast, while digital media mentions the reach for posts for business accounts.

2. Engagement

Audience engagement is measured through active actions from your customers. It includes interacting with brand activation or campaign communication on digital media and sharing branded content with their social circles. 

Engagement is a separate KPI from reach because it requires more involvement from the targeted customer.

3. CPC/CPA

Cost-per-Click or Cost-per-Acquisition are strategies brands can choose between for their paid campaigns. Here, the number of clicks and conversions are the KPIs and can directly provide ROI through simple calculations.

CPC is typically less expensive than CPA because of the effort required. A CPC-based campaign will get the audience to click on the links you provided and redirect to a landing page or website. The customer journey post-arrival depends on how effective your content is.

CPA, in contrast, charges a client per acquisition, depending on how you define it. For example, some marketers label purchases as an acquisition, while others would consider loyalty card sign-ups as the same.

4. Lead Generation 

Lead generation campaigns are great for creating client databases. You will essentially launch a campaign that helps you collect customer data for communication and remarketing purposes. It is always best to mention how you’ll use the data to prevent misunderstandings.

The more leads you collect, the more successful the campaign. Marketers often convince customers to provide information for a benefit or discount. You will offer such tactics on most websites requesting your email id to send newsletters. 

5. Return on Investment

The ROI is one of the top KPIs and is one of the top considerations for each campaign performance analysis. It presents an objective and number-based account of campaign achievements compared to the money invested.

The higher the ROI, the better it is.

6. SERP Ranking

SERP stands for Search Engine Rank Position and is where your website organically places on a search engine. Although Google allows paid campaigns, the more sustainable solution is to be competitive and try to improve your SEO score as much as possible.

A high SEO score will give you a position among the top 5.

7. Customer Traffic and Revenue

Website traffic and an increase in revenue are also critical KPIs. Website traffic indicates that more people visit your website, and higher revenue means more sales. The better the score for these KPIs, the better your overall performance.

Dashboards To Monitor Campaign Performance

Now that you know which KPIs you should be tracking, building your reporting becomes a lot easier! To do so, you can use a dashboard template, like the one below, to have a quick overview of how your campaign is doing.

Wrapping Up

To conclude, analysing marketing campaign performance requires knowing the objectives and KPIs set in the beginning. Review them and gather relevant data to produce an informative, intriguing report covering the entire process.