Now that you have got acquainted with the concept of closed-loop marketing and its various benefits have convinced you to get started, here are some tips that can help you get the most results and business value from this methodology.
Start on a solid foundation
Before beginning, it is important to understand who is involved in this process and the goals each party hopes to achieve. Several departments are typically involved in the closed-loop marketing process: Sales, Marketing and IT. A representative from each team should be elected. This way, people will feel more ownership and therefore will be more involved and committed to the success of the mission. Then, you have to define their objectives with clear metrics related to marketing campaigns, the number of leads generated or sales realized, the optimization of the sales cycle, etc.
Conduct an internal audit
The Closed Loop Marketing Toolbox
- It is also important to assess the current situation in order to identify and overcome any internal problems that could impact the closed-loop marketing process:
- Make sure that your website, CRM system, campaign management tool and analytics are well coordinated with each other
- Assess whether your marketing team and sales teams work well together and have mutually agreed upon success criteria. This alignment is essential to the success of the project.
- Define the stages and criteria from when a contact becomes lead to when it’s entrusted to the sales team. Are you all in agreement with the pipeline procedure, etc.?
- Are you well able to capture and analyze all the information needed for this process?
Based on this audit, you will be able to determine the possibilities available for your closed-loop marketing. If weak links appear, you should try to strengthen them in order to be more effective.
Use tracking code
Why is tracking so important? All your marketing campaigns won’t have the same impact. Campaign codes allow you to more easily evaluate how your channels are performing. They should be embedded in email, search engine marketing, display advertising, social media, etc. Thanks to this tracking, you will be able to determine which ones deserve more of your budget and those which are a waste of your time and money.
Check your tracking
Now that you understand that tracking is vital to the success of closed-loop marketing, it is advisable to test the tracking you have set up. Some software can perform a review of all codes installed on your website as well as on your various campaigns.
Use the testing method
Now that you are sure your tracking is operating correctly, you can use different test methods to optimize your conversion tactics. A/B testing is one of them. For example, if you’re split testing a landing page, you will be able to measure the impact the number of web forms submissions (thanks to web analytics), the number of leads and sales generated (with CRM), etc.
It is now time to close the loop
Your first campaigns are launched, the first results are coming: It’s time to compare your live metrics with the goals you set previously. Based on the results obtained, you can monitor your campaigns and begin to reap the benefits of closed-loop marketing.
With good planning and the right tools and people in place, and good data analysis, you will be in good position to deliver on the promise of closed-loop marketing.
The Closed Loop Marketing Toolbox
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