Do you find it challenging to prioritise your campaign metrics? Are you seeking clarity on which metrics truly matter for your marketing endeavours?
In medical device marketing, it’s crucial to have a primary marketing metric, such as revenue or leads, based on your main marketing goal. However, to achieve this goal, it’s equally important to monitor specific metrics that indicate the performance of different marketing channels.
This article will focus on those essential metrics, highlighting the need to track and optimise them to ensure the effectiveness of your marketing activities and the achievement of your overarching objectives.
Website metrics
Medical device websites serve as the central hub for all marketing activities. Every channel, be it social media, email campaigns, or paid advertisements, should ultimately lead audiences to your website.
Why? Because it’s on your website where the crucial conversion takes place, typically culminating in potential clients reaching out to your sales team.
By diligently tracking metrics on your website, you ensure two pivotal things: firstly, that you’re presenting content that resonates with and meets the needs of your visitors; and secondly, that you’re effectively guiding them along their buyer’s journey, nudging them towards that all-important conversion.
Conversion rate
Monitoring the conversion rate of a website is essential, for most companies, it’s the most important metric to track. It offers a direct measure of how effective your site is at turning its visitors into actionable leads or customers.
A high conversion rate signifies that your website’s content, design, and user experience are resonating with its audience, compelling them to take the desired action. Conversely, a subpar rate might indicate areas of the website that require refinement.
Taking a look at our top 5 website mistakes is a great place to start if you’re looking to improve your conversion rate.
Website traffic
Many companies place considerable importance on website traffic, believing it to be their most important metric. At a glance, high traffic numbers can be reassuring, suggesting that your marketing efforts are drawing attention, however, it’s essential to approach website traffic with a discerning eye.
On its own, website traffic can sometimes fall into the category of ‘vanity metrics’, meaning that in isolation it doesn’t provide actionable insights or guarantee meaningful engagement. It doesn’t tell you if visitors find value in your content, if they’re potential customers, or if they’re likely to return.
That said, it’s undeniably important to monitor your website’s traffic. A steady or growing number of visitors indicates that your outreach and visibility efforts are on track. But rather than viewing traffic as an end goal, consider it a starting point. Use it as an indicator towards other metrics that warrant deeper investigation. By doing so, you can transform a simple traffic count into a valuable tool for refining and optimising your broader marketing strategy.
Bounce rate
Bounce rate is a significant metric, showing the proportion of visitors who leave after only viewing one page on your site. A bounce rate above 45% can indicate that users might be having difficulty finding the information they’re seeking on your website.
Furthermore, a less-than-ideal user experience (UX) design can also lead to a higher bounce rate. If your website’s structure doesn’t intuitively lead users to the information, they’re after, they’re more likely to leave without exploring more.
Addressing these issues is vital for encouraging users to move through your site and continue their buyer’s journey.
For a comprehensive understanding of your website’s performance, it’s beneficial to examine the bounce rate of individual pages rather than the entire site. This detailed approach aids in identifying specific areas that need enhancement, guaranteeing that each page effectively resonates with its visitors.
Acquisition
Acquisition reveals the volume of traffic directed to your website from various channels, offering crucial insights into which channels excel at guiding your audience to your site and which ones fall short.
This information highlights which channels need further optimisation and directs you to focus on the most effective ones. For instance, if you notice high traffic from social media but low conversions, would your time be better spent elsewhere? It might be more beneficial to invest time in a channel that performs better.
All of these metrics are viewable through Google Analytics, once you have added the appropriate tracking to your website, which you can learn to do here. We like to feed our data into Google Looker Studio so we can combine it with data from other channels for a holistic view of our marketing campaigns. Looker Studio can also be used to create custom reports.
Social media
Are your social media posts making an impact? Tracking social media metrics gives you the answer. By keeping tabs on these numbers, you get a clear picture of what’s working and what’s not.
It’s about understanding your audience’s preferences and adjusting your content accordingly. After all, in the fast-paced world of social media, staying informed and adaptable is key to staying relevant.
Engagement rate
The engagement rate on your posts tells you the percentage of users who actively engage with your content, whether through likes, shares, or comments. It’s more than just numbers; it’s a reflection of how well your content resonates with your audience, offering a clear insight into its effectiveness.
The engagement rate is a valuable tool for understanding your audience’s preferences. By analysing your posts, you can identify which content types or topics receive the most interaction. Are there specific subjects that consistently attract attention? Do certain formats, like photos or infographics, get more responses?
For example, if you notice that videos consistently receive high engagement, it might be worth prioritising video content creation. By paying attention to engagement rates and adjusting accordingly, you can refine your social media strategy to better meet the interests and needs of your audience.
Follower count
Your follower count represents the community you’ve built on social media. A growing number is a testament to your brand’s appeal and the content you share. While it’s great to see a large audience, it’s also essential to consider the quality of these connections. Are these followers genuinely interested in what you offer? Are they your potential customers?
Follower count is a great starting point to gauge your online reach. However, for a genuine view of your social media impact, it’s beneficial to delve into deeper metrics. Remember, it’s not just about quantity but the quality of engagement and interactions that truly define success.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Click-through rate (CTR), measures the number of people who have clicked on a link within your social media post. More often than not, this link directs users to your website, the primary destination you want your audience to explore. This makes CTR an incredibly vital metric to monitor.
Understanding and improving your CTR is essential. Just as with engagement rate, it’s beneficial to assess which posts garner the most clicks and determine the reasons behind their success. By identifying the elements that resonate with your audience, you gain insights into crafting more effective posts in the future.
In essence, a strong CTR not only indicates interest but also guides your content strategy, ensuring you consistently lead your audience to where you want them to be.
These metrics are available across most social media platforms, and scheduling tools like Hootsuite. As with website data, we like to feed this data into Looker Studio for a comprehensive deep dive into all our channels.
Email metrics provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your email campaigns. By analysing open rates, click-through rates, and other key indicators, you can gauge how well your content resonates with your audience.
Monitoring these metrics allows you to refine your messaging, segment your audience to more effectively cut through the noise and get you noticed by your audience in their saturated inboxes.
Open rate
The open rate is a fundamental metric in email marketing, revealing how many recipients have clicked to open your email.
At first glance, open rates might seem like a metric beyond your control, but fortunately, that isn’t the case. The subject line, the preview text, and even the sender’s name can all play pivotal roles in capturing attention.
You can also send the same email out multiple times to subscribers who didn’t open it the first time. We tend to repeat this twice after sending an email initially and have found it drastically increases the open rate.
Engagement rate
Much like on social media, the click-through rate (CTR) in emails serves as a measure of user engagement. It indicates whether recipients have taken the next step after opening your email: have they clicked on any of the links provided?
Some email platforms allow you to A/B test your emails, so you can experiment to see which layouts drive the best engagement.
This metric is paramount, especially when you consider that these links typically guide users back to your website, bridging the gap between initial interest and deeper engagement.
Open times
Open times offer a window into the habits of your audience, revealing the peak moments when your emails are accessed. This metric is more than just a timestamp; it’s a strategic tool. By understanding the popular times your emails are opened, you can tailor your sending schedule accordingly.
Ensuring your email arrives in your audience’s inbox when they’re most active can significantly boost your open rate.
Whichever email platform you’re using, be it MailChimp, Campaign Monitor or any others, you should be able to access the metrics above in an ‘Analytics’ or ‘Statistics’ section.
Our main takeaways
From the general indicators like follower counts and website traffic to the actionable data from click-through rates and open times, each metric provides a distinct view of how well your channels are performing.
Remember though, these metrics alone don’t paint the full picture of your overall marketing success. It’s crucial not to consider them in isolation, rather they should be used to create actionable insights that guide you in achieving your overarching marketing goals.