GOAL-DRIVEN WEB STRATEGY
Implementing Technology with an Eye on ROI

Return on Investment:
the magic number that
will make you look like
a golden god
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andyfitz

What office do you work for on campus?

Do you consider yourself a “marketer”?

What is the difference between
MARKETING and COMMUNICATIONS ?

“
Communications makes
”
marketing tactics tangible

Cartoon

THE DIRTY LITTLE
SECRET OF
WEB MARKETING

MARKETING FRAMEWORK
1. SET STRATEGY: What are your higher level goals?
What does success look like?
2. PLAN TACTICS: What types of communications will
we use to achieve our goals and how will we
measure results?
3. EXECUTE COMMUNICATION: Communicate with
your audience using planned tactics.
4. ASSESS RESULTS: Did we achieve our goals? What
can we do better next time?

SET STRATEGY
o What does success look like?
o Marketing goals should relate
back to the business goals
of the institution

What are “marketing goals” that can
relate back to “business goals”?

PLAN TACTICS
o What medium is the best way to
articulate your message?
o What is the strategy for the
communication?
o How are you going to measure it?

TIME IS MONEY
Planning not only includes
strategy, but also infrastructure.
Will an in-house solution or an
outsourced one be more cost
effective?
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8011986@N02

STEP ONE:
Employee’s Salary
+ 1/3 Salary (benefits)
==================
Total Salary
STEP TWO:
Total Salary / 2080
===============
Hourly Wage
STEP THREE:
Hourly Wage
X Number of Staff Hours
==================
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8011986@N02
Internal Cost

EXECUTE YOUR COMMUNICATIONS

ASSESS YOUR RESULTS
o What was achieved as a direct result of the
communication?
o Did that conversion result in a return?
o What can I do better next time?

EXAMPLE: EMAIL MARKETING
Set up tracking for an email that is
sent out to prospects, encouraging
them to fill out an online
application for admissions.

SET UP TRACKING
Two Key Tools:
o Goals
o URL Builder

STEP ONE: SET UP
A GOAL / FUNNEL

STEP TWO: BUILD A CAMPAIGN URL
http://www.google.com/support/googleanalytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=55578

STEP THREE: PUT THE TWO TOGETHER

STEP THREE: PUT THE TWO TOGETHER
Goal Conversion

EXAMPLE: EMAIL MARKETING
Figure out ROI on an email
campaign that sent out 3,000
emails, had 358 click throughs,
resulting in 130 applications. The
email took 2 hours to complete, at
the cost of $40/hr staff time and
$0.015/per email.

ROI CALCULATOR
http://www.marketingtoday.com/tools/roi_calculator.htm

DOLLARIZE EVERYTHING
Assigning a monetary
value to your results
gives you a common
denominator to
compare costs to
outcomes

ASSIGNING VALUE
Average Tuition Paid: $20,000/year
Conversion rate from application to enroll: 20%
20% of $20,000 is $4,000
$4,000 IS OUR “AVERAGE PROFIT PER SALE”

VALUES FOR THE CALCULATOR
o Number of Pieces: 3,000
o Total Program Costs:
($0.015 X 3,000) + ($40 X 2) = $125
o Response Rate: 358 clicks/3,000 = 11.93%
o Conversion Rate: 130 apps/358 = 36.31%
o Average Profit Per Sale: $4,000

ROI Results

SHARE YOUR SUCCESS
o Make it tangible
o Give it context
o Offer recommendations

BREAKING
DOWN
TACTICS

EMAIL MARKETING: WHAT IT’S GOOD FOR
⇒ Increase online
applications
⇒ Register online for an
event
⇒ Bring in online gifts
⇒ Start a conversation

FACEBOOK ADS

FACEBOOK ADS: WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR?

FACEBOOK ADS: WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR?

FACEBOOK ADS: WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR?

FACEBOOK ADS: HOW YOU MEASURE ROI
⇒ Use a Google Analytics campaign URL
⇒ Set up a goal or create a unique landing page to track
conversion.
⇒ Assign a value and use the ROI
calculator.

FACEBOOK ADS: HOW YOU MEASURE ROI
⇒ Number of pieces: The total number of impressions
⇒ Program costs: The total amount paid for the ads, plus staff
time.
⇒ Response rate: The percent of people who clicked on the ad
⇒ Conversion rate: The percent of people fulfilled the call-to-
action
⇒ Average profit per sale: The value you assign to them
fulfilling the action

FACEBOOK ADS: HOW YOU MEASURE ROI

BLOGS

Do Something Different
http://norwich.typepad.com/fall2007

SET STRATEGY:
– Keep enrolling students engaged throughout the summer, and convey important
information them; reduce summer sugar-off.
PLAN TACTICS:
– Blog format selected
– Coordination with admissions counselors for questions, videos and new student
profiles
– Coordination with Interactive Recruitment Manger and Assistant for updating, copy
editing and video editing.
– Marketing plan created
– Measurement Plan created: Number of hits relative to target audience, phone call
reduction.
EXECUTE COMMUNICATION:
– The blog launched at the beginning of June 2007 and ran through the end of August
2007, with updates running every day as planned. It was marketed on the home
page, the admissions main page, and in email communications.
ASSESS RESULTS:
– 20,000 hits over three months, against a target audience of 650.
– Anecdotal evidence from counseling staff

SET STRATEGY:
– Keep enrolling students engaged throughout the summer, and convey important
information them; reduce summer sugar-off.
PLAN TACTICS:
– Blog format selected
– Coordination with admissions counselors for questions, videos and new student
profiles
– Coordination with Interactive Recruitment Manger and Assistant for updating, copy
editing and video editing.
– Marketing plan created
– Measurement Plan created: Number of hits relative to target audience, phone call
reduction.
EXECUTE COMMUNICATION:
– The blog launched at the beginning of June 2007 and ran through the end of August
2007, with updates running every day as planned. It was marketed on the home
page, the admissions main page, and in email communications.
ASSESS RESULTS:
– 20,000 hits over three months, against a target audience of 650.
– Anecdotal evidence from counseling staff

Updated Daily
Information the audience
wanted
It featured “people like
them”

BLOGS: WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR?
⇒ Provide authentic stories of
the student experience
⇒ An opportunity for
interaction with current
students
⇒ Make institutional
announcements and
calls-to-action
⇒ Gain insight into the minds
of your audience

BLOGS: HOW CAN YOU MEASURE ROI?
⇒ Conversion, if you have a call to action
⇒ Readers: Cost of advertising in a similar
content channel
⇒ Comments: Cost of a focus group, if it
provides insight
⇒ Anecdotal: Take it on a case-by-case basis

SOCIAL NETWORKS

Saying “We should have
a Facebook page” is not
a marketing strategy!!!!!

The Goal: Increase quality of incoming students
o 70% of the members who deposited were from the
highest admissions selectivity group
o Highest selectivity group jumped from 30% the
previous year to 37%
http://doteduguru.com/id2947-cafe-new-paltz-a-yielding-success.html

SOCIAL NETWORKS: WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR?
⇒ Allowing your audience to
become a friend/fan/follower of
your institution (and then
converting the to
meaningful
actions!)
⇒ Engaging incoming students over
the summer to prevent “sugar
off ”
⇒ Giving alumni volunteers a way to
interact with each
other and share tips

SOCIAL NETWORKS: HOW YOU MEASURE ROI
⇒ Easy dissemination of information: What would it
cost you in other mediums? What was your
conversion rate with calls-to-action?
⇒ Ease sugar off: Did the percentage of summer sugar off go
down? How much value does that translate into?
⇒ Support alumni volunteers: Where your volunteers more
successful as a result? What value does that translate into?

BOTTOM LINE ON MEASUREMENT
Are you brining in more
value to the institution
than it is costing to
implement your
strategies?

KEY TAKEAWAYS
⇒ Start with bottom-line
related goals, not with
the technology
⇒ Measure everything
⇒ Dollarize your results to
calculate ROI
⇒ Always ask what you can do
better next time

Karlyn Morissette www.dojo-web.com
www.karlynmorissette.com www.fire-engine-red.com
www.doteduguru.com www.twitter.com/KarlynM
karlynmorissette@gmail.com www.linkedin.com/in/karlynmorissette