95%+ of Your Marketing Budget Is Wasted – And Here’s How To Spot It
The department store and advertising pioneer John Wanamaker once quipped:
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.”
These days we have the technology to track which “half” is wasted – and what we’ve discovered is it’s not “half” at all…
The actual figure is MUCH worse.
Up to 48% Wasted from Bad Targeting
For starters – a 2016 study from Nielsen’s Digital Ad Ratings found that on average, 48% of all online ad budgets were wasted because they were not reaching the intended audience.
Up to 57% Wasted on Unviewable Ads
Research by Vindico (an ad management platform provider) published in the New York Times’ article The Great Unwatched found that 57% of video ads were “unviewable” – buried low on web pages or run in tiny, easily ignored video players on those pages, or run simultaneously with other ads.
…And that’s just the waste before someone has hit your website!
36-60% Wasted from Bounce Rates
When they do hit your site, between 36-60% of people who click on your ads will “bounce” from your site (bounce rate), according to Compass’s Ecommerce Conversion Rates – 2016 Benchmarks report.
95% Wasted on Poor Conversion Rates
Of the tiny percentage of people who have seen your ads, and “stuck” on your site, only a tiny tiny percentage will buy.
Wordstream analysed their client ad data and developed some industry benchmarks that give us a good insight into conversion rates:
Auto – 2.27% (97.73% of potential customers wasted);
B2B – 2.58% (97.42% of potential customers wasted);
Consumer Services – 5.00% (95.00% of potential customers wasted);
E-Commerce – 1.91% (98.09% of potential customers wasted);
Home Goods – 3.68% (96.32% of potential customers wasted);
Industrial Services – 2.58% (97.42% of potential customers wasted);
Legal – 4.35% (95.65% of potential customers wasted);
Real Estate – 4.40% (95.60% of potential customers wasted);
Technology – 2.55% (97.45% of potential customers wasted);
Travel and Hospitality – 2.57% (97.43% of potential customers wasted).
This suggests that 95%+ of peoples’ ad budget is wasted on a mix of targeting the wrong customers, and a poorly optimised website .
Plus Wasted Time, Effort and Money Elsewhere
The examples above are all to do with advertising, and bringing customers to your website.
What about the time, money and effort wasted on:
Graphic design;
Content development;
Email marketing;
Product creation and promotion;
etc
Most Business Owners Are “Too Busy” To Think About The Data In Their Business…
As a business owner, there isn’t enough time in the day to do everything.
Most business owners I know are running from spotfire-to-spotfire, campaign-to-campaign.
…But Thinking About It Pays Off
If they could read the numbers in their Google Analytics account (or had someone who read the numbers for them), they would quickly see:
When it comes to marketing… what’s worth the time/money/effort – and what isn’t?
What types of people are actually buying… and what types should we actively ignore?
Where are we losing sales on our website… and how can we plug those holes to maximise sales?
What is the fastest – and most effective – way to increase sales?
Case Study 1: Nando’s Australia – 416.67% Increase in Online Orders
Working with Nando’s Australia on their online ordering platform, we analysed their Google Analytics stats and discovered that the majority of customers were leaving before placing an order.
The reason for this was confusion about menu options.
After testing a tweak that simplified their website, Nando’s saw a 416.67% increase in sales
Case Study 2: Trades Services Provider – Doubling of Sales Enquiries, Doubling of Sales
A trades services company that advertised for leads online recently asked for help reviewing their Google Analytics stats.
What was obvious in their stats was the profitability of one particular advertising channel.
Immediately doubling the ad budget for that ad channel had the effect of doubling the number of sales enquiries received. They’re now on track to double their sales.
How Can Your Stats Help You?
Your Google Analytics account is a huge wealth of information, insight, and opportunity.
If you want help deciphering the numbers and spotting opportunities, for quick growth, reach out. I’d be happy to help you out.