Search will remain the core structure, feeding data
to all other media. It is the highest-converting medium, but only 2% of the conversions occur from engines. Optimizing and integrating "the experience" will become a focus for online marketing in
2011.
Joshua Palau, vice president of marketing at Comcast, finds it ironic that 86% of consumers skip through commercials, but many of today's television shows talk about advertising. Since
very few consumers convert online, how do marketers market to the 98% of consumers who won't click on an online ad? Maybe it's not the click that needs optimization, but rather the metrics behind the
media.
"We don't count a conversion until the truck shows up at the house," Palau said. He estimates Comcast loses conversions because it doesn't have the ability to serve customers on mobile.
For those companies in a similar situation, he suggests enabling a mobile click-to-call strategy, or something similar, allowing marketers to optimize conversions.
Marketers should not allow an
inability to measure everything to stop them from capitalizing on the experience. How do they connect with consumers and gain an integrated view of the market? Olivier Lemaignen, director of head of
consumer marketing, Invisalign, says it's easy if the company has an integrated marketing strategy backed by data.
For Invisalign, which manufactures medical devices, it wasn't that easy. Medical
products fall under the HIPAA privacy rules, so doctors don't typically tell Invisalign who clicks on the ads. This makes it more important for the company to remain focused on marketing media and not
"dabble" in all "because it's a new shiny toy."
It has become incredibly important for marketers to pick a focus by putting themselves in the customer's shoes. For example, through internal
studies, Invisalign discovered that adult woman don't tend to put on rich colors of lipstick if they're not comfortable with their teeth. Because the finding was based on a customer insight, the ad
did very well. Customers pick what really matters.
Lemaignen suggests marketers should focus on the most important metrics. Look at the big picture -- and look for correlations not previously
seen without the metrics.
It's no longer good enough to be a stand-alone agency just focused on search. Search is the biggest benefactor of all other channels, says Rob Griffin, executive vice
president and global director of product development at Havas Digital. Integration will allow search and the entire media mix to perform better, he said.