Sally's take on...

...where the economy is going

You read a lot in the business pages about leading economic indicators – stock prices, consumer expectations, money supply and the like.

Well, on the micro level, many friends consider our business a leading indicator. A year ago the economy came to a screeching halt, but we’d been seeing it slow down since the start of 2008. Indeed, when the “official” word came down earlier this year that the recession had officially started in January of 2008, my response was, “Duh.”

You’re seeing increasing signs of hopefulness in the news coverage today that we’re emerging from the worst of it. And once again, we’ve been on top of the trend lines for several months. We’re seeing more prospects, and they’re both more positive about the outlook and far less reluctant to pull the trigger on marketing investment.

In this issue of POV, we offer two articles in keeping with this cautious optimism, “Positioning Your Business for the Upswing,” suggests some things to think about as you jumpstart your efforts to rebuild your profile if your business has been in hunker–down mode. In “Using Google Analytics for a Googol of Insights,” we explain the importance of Web analytics – which we use to help evaluate the effectiveness of our initiatives.

Thanks for your interest!

Positioning Your Business for the Upswing

By Chris Scott

So your business has survived the last 18 months despite staff cutbacks, budget slashing and other downsizing. With what appears to be a glimmer of a turnaround in sight, now what?

Now may be the time to jumpstart your marketing to ensure you’re poised to capitalize on the opportunities ahead. Here are some considerations to keep in mind as the economy begins its revival:

• Set your expectations realistically. Bottom line, recovery takes time on both a fiscal and emotional scale. The marketing dollars you spend today to build your image cannot be expected to magically create an immediate influx of new sales or contracts. They should, however, build a platform for growth. At the same time, it’s critical to measure the returns you’re achieving through meaningful metrics. Web analytics (below) are one helpful way to go on this front. The challenge is to look at your marketing dollars as an investment, and the most solid investments turn in optimal performance over the longer term.


• Reach out to existing customers. If you haven’t already, take the time now to assess the satisfaction level of current customers, thank them for their loyalty, and, while you’re at it, learn how they view the experience of doing business with you. The mere act of gathering this information solidifies your ties with them. And what they tell you – good and bad – should guide your marketing strategy and how you position your business with new customers. This doesn’t have to be an expensive exercise – but it’s best to have outside experts help you formulate your approach – customers are more likely to be brutally honest with an independent party.


• Simple plans. A marketing plan will give you the roadmap you need to recovery. Informed by your customers and geared to supporting your business objectives, the level of ambition should be guided by realistic budget considerations. Your best bet is to start conservatively with programs you can test out on a small scale. That way you can expand programs that merit further investment, and cut loose those that don’t show reasonable returns.

There’s no single solution for companies seeking to reposition themselves for better economic time, just as there was no playbook when the economy began tanking. The idea now is to hit the ground running to begin trying to make up for ground lost over the recession. If Chrysler, Lehman Brothers and Filene’s Basement can be toppled by a series of business mistakes made during the good times, smaller companies must remember to stay smart as the hard times come to an end.

Chris Scott is senior vice president of Hodge Schindler Integrated Communications. Reached him at cscott@hodgeschindler.com.

Using Google Analytics for a Googol of Insights

By Ashley Weber

Is your Web site working for you? The answer lies not in another sales spiel designed to part you from your money, but in a simple, free, and easy–to–use program called Google Analytics.

Suitable for most Web sites, Google’s analytics program is free and features an exhaustive amount of data and a layout designed for easy interpretation. (Other popular tracking software includes VisiStat, mviSPY, Webstats, Opentracker.net, and eWebAnalytics.)

Why do you want to add its simple piece of code to your site and monitor what it’s telling you? To gain insights into what’s working and what’s not in driving traffic to your Web site and, ultimately, business to your door. Here is some of the intelligence you can gather from any analytics program:

• Who is visiting your site? The programs compile just about every statistic short of name, age and home address to profile visitors. Using this information can guide your business strategy. One client was thinking about adding a Spanish–language version of his Web site. His analytics supported the move. They showed that a significant percentage of visitors were, in fact, Spanish-speaking, and were loyal – visiting his site often. A Spanish–language Web site would enhance their experience with both the site and the business, and encourage more business from this demographic, justifying the costs associated with creating the new site.


• Where are they coming from? Visitors come from three main sources: directly (typing your URL into the address bar); by referral (through links from another site); and search engines.
  
  For links, it’s a good idea to know the context. Is a former customer blog–bashing your product or service or is it a rave review? Knowledge guides your next steps of righting the perceived wrong or saying “thanks,” linking back to the reviewer or utilizing the positive comments on your site as a testimonial.
  
  When visitors click through from a search engine, the analytics will tell you their search terms – invaluable information. We helped an egg donation and surrogacy agency client optimize its site to increase traffic. Visitors’ search terms led us to “egg donor Chicago.” To push the firm higher up in the results, we reworked some of the site’s copy, including title pages, and geographically targeted the most relevant and popular keywords. It has leapfrogged the site to second place in first–page search results, with a corresponding increase in incoming calls.


• What are they looking at? Analytics also follow visitors’ paths through your site and report on their entire stay. Some pages are very popular; others get virtually no traffic. Why? Sometimes a page isn’t accessible from the home page and is less likely to be visited. It might be full of PDFs that visitors have neither the time nor inclination to download. Sometimes the page is just uninformative. Analytics help you compare the popular to the less so and make necessary changes.


• When are they arriving? If you’re running Web site promotions on Saturday mornings but your site’s traffic spikes on Wednesday afternoons, then it’s time to rethink their timing. Many of our service–oriented clients have very low weekend traffic but heavy traffic on Monday and Tuesday. When our egg donation and surrogacy agency client implemented search engine advertising, they had to decide when the ads would run. Their analytics showed a high–traffic trend early in the week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Updating content on specific days while simultaneously running ads has significantly increased site visits and incoming calls.


• Why are they leaving? An exit page is the page a visitor was on when they decided to leave your site, and an important indicator. If many visitors’ paths often lead to the same exit page, then that page isn’t doing its job. Rewrite the copy, entice them to another page, or perhaps delete the page altogether. Also consider the navigation to that particular page. If a customer can’t find what they’re looking for within two or three clicks, they’ll look elsewhere – fast.


• How long are they staying? A million monthly visitors are worthless if they’re only staying for an average of 30 seconds. If 80 percent of them are “bouncing” away from your site, then your site is not working for you. Explore the search terms visitors are using to get to your site. If they have nothing to do with you, then you need to write new copy in order for the search engines to direct more appropriate visitors. Does your site house in–depth and relevant content? The more reasons you give them, the longer they’ll stay, the more information they’ll get about your company, and the more likely they’ll convert to a customer. Showing your expertise through articles, newsletters, podcasts, videos or a blog holds the attention of potential customers longer and keeps them coming back.

The sheer amount of information you can gain from Web site analytics can be overwhelming. But it’s a worthwhile effort to go through each graph to determine the implications for your site. Every site can benefit from analysis and tweaking based on that analysis. Given the Web site’s role as a primary marketing tool for businesses today and the substantial amount that’s invested in each one, it’s an issue that you can’t afford to ignore.

Ashley Weber is an account executive at Hodge Schindler Integrated Communications who also manages our Web analytics services. She can be reached at aweber@hodgeschindler.com.

Short takes

We took on a very challenging crisis communications assignment with the Illinois Coin Machine Operators Association (ICMOA) beginning in August relative to the passage of Illinois’ 2009 Video Gaming Act, which will help fund a much–needed multi–billion dollar statewide capital campaign. It’s an extremely polarizing issue; through various strategies, we’re trying for more even–handed news coverage and public understanding. The underlying message: jobs plus public improvements without taxing the general population.

Our client, ChiArts (Chicago High School for the Arts), opened September 9 to a flurry of publicity including a spot on WLS–TV, a page one Sun–Times story and an interview on WBEZ public radio. A Tribune story is also in the offing.

Local, regional and national media pounced on new information from client C&R Research Inc.’s YouthBeat syndicated research study regarding cell phone use by children between 8 and 14 years old. Data that indicate that cell phone usage within this age group is on the rise was picked by such print outlets as the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun–Times, The Peoria Journal–Star, Quad City Times, as well as the Chicago Tonight television program on WTTW–TV/Channel 11 and on the WMAQ–TV Channel 5 news. Several blogs, including The Capital Fax Blog, eSchoolNews and cNet News all cited C&R findings that nearly half of American children between 10 and 13 own a cell phone as well as 83 percent of all U.S. teenagers. This hot–button issue is being followed up with other fascinating data from YouthBeat on the habits of today’s young people.

How to contact us

Hodge Schindler Integrated Communications is located at 900 N. Franklin St., Suite 505, Chicago, IL 60610. Our phone is 312.666.6662; fax is 312.666.1670.

To contact any of our team members via e–mail, please use their first initial–last name–at–hodgeschindler–dot–com.