Our last post on choosing tools for your digital marketing campaigns raised a simple question from a couple readers: How should a tool be evaluated?  Here’s an example of an evaluation process and how one simple difference in focus can alter which tool is most suitable.

There are a handful of platforms that have become available that advertise the ability to identify the users are on your site and what they are doing.  This is done in one of two ways. 

The first is that the platform will try to match a user to a database of IP addresses associated with particular companies.   The user data is logged and then marketers can try to match up that user to a particular person at the company using LinkedIn or contact databases.

The second is a platform that logs a user’s IP address and if that user completes a form or somehow identifies themselves, then the platform will log their user behavior to the contact info and create ongoing log of their activity.  This allows marketers to create custom offers based on the user’s logged profile and preferences.

The first thing to note is that there is no perfect tool.  None of these tools will automatically identify a person visiting your site.  Both options rely on matching a user’s IP address to contact information.  That’s either done by referencing a database or having a user self-identify by completing a call to action. The majority of users will not be matched to either so only a subset of visitors will be logged.

Here’s the process we would use for evaluation:

Budget

Can we afford the tool?  If not, it’s pointless to investigate further.

Return On Investment

If we can afford the tool, what is our projection on how much additional revenue it will generate or how much time will it save?  If that savings or revenue does not make up a little more than the tool costs, it’s not worth the time investment to implement it.

Overlapping functions

Does this tool have duplicative processes to other platforms in our toolset? Several of the tools that offer user tracking are multifaceted.  Specifically, platforms that log users after self-identifying usually have a contact database function. Digital marketers need to understand how those tools will co-exist with existing processes or whether an existing tool can be eliminated by a new tool’s functionality.

Compatibility

Does the new tool work with your existing tool set?  Tools that lack compatibility require a manual process to link the tools up.  If the manual process takes too much time or resources, then it’s likely not worth the effort unless it can replace the non-compatible platforms.

Objective

Is the tool solving the problem that you are experiencing?  Often times the novelty of a marketing tool blinds digital marketers to the obvious question of whether the function is useful. 

In this example, if a company is looking for more leads and has marketing support to investigate the companies that visit the site, they would get value from the first option.  A company that has a steady stream of leads but struggles to systemically follow up with those leads would benefit from the second option.  

But what about a company that needs more leads but doesn’t have marketing support? The first option gives them data they can’t take action on. The second option only informs them about leads they’ve likely already exhausted. Having the data is a sophisticated option but one that brings little value in either scenario

Spend some time doing your due diligence on any tool you want to incorporate into your marketing process.  That initial evaluation process can save a lot of time by ensuring the tool offers value for your specific needs.

Finding the right tool set for running your digital marketing campaigns is essential.  The right toolset allows for digital marketers to effectively, efficiently, and responsibly deliver their messages to a targeted group.  Reducing that set of platforms and applications to the simplest marketing system that meets all of your needs is an ongoing process of evaluation and refinement.

The importance of having the right tools is rarely lost on digital marketers as the wrong tool, or a disconnect between tools, results in timely manual fixes that eat up a day.  Understanding the importance of getting the right digital marketing tools can help marketers find an effective toolset, but it can also cause over analysis and inefficiency in searching for the perfect tool.

To spare anyone searching for the perfect tool or series of tools some pain, it doesn’t exist.  There is no perfect digital marketing platform or set of tools that work best across the board.  Individual businesses or organizations have to analyze available options and find the right mix of capabilities that meets their available resources and budget.

So with that said, it’s OK to have a tool for “right now”. Just because a tool is not specifically designed for your need or doesn’t have all the functionality you seek, doesn’t mean it can’t be a good interim solution as you move toward an even better option.  Improvising is a valuable skill in getting your marketing tools to mold to your needs rather than trying to fit all your needs within a packaged product. Better to have a tool that meets some of your requirements rather than one that meets all of them but is not realistic in the short term.

It’s not uncommon to find trainers, consultants, or professional coaches that have been introduced to a new marketing tool that seems perfect but they need to wait on resources or budget.  Rather than implementing an option that might immediately help, they fantasize about the ideal mix of this “perfect” tool.

Even if the tool is perfect, which no tool is, it will be less than perfect as time passes.  Digital marketing tools are all technology based.  That means a rapidly changing environment and set of capabilities. Even twelve months from now, your marketing initiatives and process will have likely evolved enough that an ideal tool will be slightly out of alignment.

As you evaluate tools to add to your marketing toolset, look at realistic options for right now. Implementing a tool now doesn’t mean you can’t upgrade later. But delaying any tool will mean that initiatives are delayed indefinitely or that running those initiates will be needlessly time consuming.