I love ROI. You can probably tell from my Twitter handle: @LuvROI. Yet, we marketers don’t often push our metrics far enough to effectively measure ROI. I’m not talking about impressions, frequency, clicks and other traditional campaign measurements. Not at all.

Rather, we should view marketing outcomes through the same revenue-focused lens used by senior management in any organization. Digital, social and mobile media (with related analytics) offer increasing opportunities to measure what’s really important to Boards, CEOs, CFOs and other senior executives.

Sample Revenue Metrics

• Number/percentage of new prospects generated online?
• How engaged are prospects (using blogs, galleries, video, mobile apps, social sites and other measurements)? Percent increase/decrease?
• Number/percent increase/decrease in gifts made via web? Mobile? Social?
• Number/percent increase/decrease in average size of gift made via web? Mobile? Social?

All this, and more, is possible…

When I was a client of Elliance, one of the simplest (but most meaningful) things I ever did was share the “Hottest Prospects” reports from the Elliance EnnectMail system. (EnnectMail, if you’re not familiar, is an easy-to-use email broadcasting system with real-time reporting.) The “Hottest Prospects” report became a useful tool for identifying future alumni board members and community influencers, and uncovered prospects that were ripe for cultivation, including those who weren’t yet “on the radar.”

Don’t Just Analyze Traffic. Follow the Money.

Imagine the respect you’d earn at your next post-campaign debrief if you could demonstrate real bottom-line impact. So, while you might spend a minute or two recapping impressions, clicks and reach, be sure to focus on revenue analytics for ROI reporting.

Learn more about Analytics and Metrics or the EnnectSuite of products.