How one company used analytics to measure the effectiveness of internet marketing

Posted by Justin Hesser on July 25, 2012

A new study by RapidBlue, an analytics software company, shows that tracking and analyzing customer behavior data as well as advertising analytics can greatly improve the insight businesses have in their marketing campaigns.

RapidBlue tracked participating stores’ Google AdWords campaigns and then implemented analytics tracking at these companies’ in their brick-and-mortar locations. RapidBlue continued monitoring customer traffic after the AdWords campaigns ended to cultivate comparison data.

“We’re not really tracking the individual person,” said RapidBlue chief operating officer Sampo Parkkinen to VentureBeat, a major industry blog. “We’re installing our solution, which tracks mobile phones in retail outlets. Then we look at the sales metrics and how they’re fluctuating.”

While tracking both the progress of the online ad campaigns and the customer behavior in the stores, the company found that AdWords contributed to a double-digit increase in both foot traffic and the average amount of time a customer spent in each store. These behaviors can provide sales associates with more opportunities to facilitate customer interaction and sales

While the study clearly shows the effects of running a well-targeted internet marketing campaign, it also demonstrates how important analytics can be for companies – especially in the digital age.

By using custom database software, small businesses will be able to effectively monitor customer analytics and behavior. This can lead to increased insight into what customers may be responding to – whether it’s a certain Google AdWord campaign or social media activity – and how they’re responding to it.

In addition, custom database software can help business owners track valuable customer data that can provide information on the identity of their key demographic as well as any other consumer trends that can facilitate more effective communication between the customer and sales associate.