As marketing budgets shrink, web analytics become more important

Dec/26/2007 07:27 Filed in: Internet & DTC Marketing
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DTC marketing budgets are going to shrink in the coming year(s). Marketers are going to have to get more resourceful when looking at core metrics such as reach and frequency and when it comes to the Web DTC eMarketers will be challenged to show that the Web works and provides a positive ROI. In addition to programs that provide Web metrics DTC teams are going to need eMarketers who can look beyond basic numbers to provide insights.



As more marketers laser in on return on investment, expect the value of firms such as Web Trends, CoreMetrics and Omniture, which has been steadily gaining since its mid-2006 IPO, to rise. "It's driven by supply and demand and right now there's not enough really good companies across the sector," said Linda Gridley, president and CEO of Gridley & Co. Nowhere is this more true than pharma. Increased costs to bring drugs to market as well as a bloated sales force are going to mean that marketers are going to be asked to do more with less. TV is great at sucking up media budgets but the data supporting increases in Rx's has been shaded at best. Senior executives, who don't understand consumer media, don't have the expertise to question data on market share in relation to TV spend. To them it's always been a correlation; the more we spend on TV the higher our share, or at least that's what DTC marketers would have them believe.


As we move away from a mass market mentality to mass personalization social marketing model marketers will be demanding a more accurate picture on the ROI for the dollars they spend especially on the Web. Whereas TV has been able to get away from such scrutiny the Internet will be the focus of a LOT of marketing managers because they see the Web as a threat to TV and because they don't understand the channel. I don't care about number of clicks on an ad, tell me the cost per targeted action and the cost per targeted market? What does the site path data tell us about the way people are learning about our products and what can we do to leverage this to meet business objectives?


Smart agencies and marketing organizations are adding staff to interactive marketing areas including analytics. They want people who can not only report on the numbers but add some insights to make campaigns more effective and drive new Rx's. Time is the enemy now and the quicker we can react the more money we can save and have available for more online programs. Will DTC marketers listen? To tell you the truth I'm not sure. Talented eMarketing people are leaving pharma and most organizations do little to keep talented people.
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