At Leap Clixx, one of the things we pride ourselves on – and also one of the core features that set us apart from many other firms and especially consultants – is that we provide transparent reporting to our clients, so they can measure performance and verify improvement.
In other words, we don’t hide behind superficial qualitative concepts and hope that we don’t get asked tough, bottom-line questions. On the contrary, we proactively show our clients the numbers. And it’s not just because we’re helpful and nice (although if we do say so ourselves: we’re helpful and nice!). It’s because we’re VERY good at what we do, and the numbers back that up.
However, with all of this being said, we appreciate that our clients are experts in their respective fields, and as such don’t “inhale Inbound Marketing and exhale ROI” the way that we do. In other words: what is music to our ears can sometimes be overwhelming or just plain incomprehensible to our clients, who don’t live and breathe Inbound Marketing the way we do.
And so, in this blog post and the next one, we’ll be sharing an overview of Inbound Marketing reports. If you’re working with us, you can expect to get this information (and more!) as part of our commitment to you. If you’re working with another firm or consultant and aren’t getting these reports…well, I guess the only question you need to ask is: why not?
1. Traffic Sources
There are many jumping off points that bring prospective customers to your website. This report provides an overview of these sources, which can include search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo), PPC and paid advertising, social media platforms, email marketing, and referrals. Each of these sources tell a different “story” in terms of how your company and brand is being perceived, and how it is positioned relative to the competition.
2. Lead Sources
Many people think that lead sources and traffic sources are the same thing – which is incorrect. They work together, but are distinct concepts.
Traffic sources, as described above, highlight the “raw numbers” in terms of where customers and visitors are coming from. Lead sources goes deeper and focuses on the sources that were originally responsible for generating the most conversions (downloads, requests, sales, etc.). This is important, because sometimes a source that generates the “last click” is not truly responsible for the lead. Equipped with this information, you can target and optimize your spending accordingly.
3. Persona Contacts
Persona contacts help your business determine how effectively your inbound marketing (and possibly your conventional/outbound marketing) is reaching your key buyer personas.
Buyer personas are functional profiles of your key target markets, and identify their mindset, objectives, aspirations, options, pain points, buying horizon and more. A fundamental aspect of our work with each client is to develop robust, realistic buyer personas, and use them to guide and direct our overall marketing efforts.
Stay Tuned for Part 2
In part 2 of our series, we’ll explore 5 more types of Inbound Marketing reports. Stay tuned!
Topics: Inbound Marketing
