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The Paine of Measurement

If You Do Nothing Else,
Track Those Click-Throughs

The cries of PR people to measure ROI are getting louder, which is a great thing. But what drives me nuts is that so many of the loudest voices clamoring for "New, Better, Standard, Perfect" measurement are ignoring tools already at their finger tips.

Many people complain to me, "I want to use PR to increase awareness or demand for my product, but I can't afford a survey to measure the results." As if there's only one way to gauge customer response.

Here's a tip: Increasingly, customers respond to something they hear by going to a Web site. How often do we see or hear, "For more information go to…?" What's amazing is how few people bother to track those click-throughs. At the very least you can be checking Technorati to see what kinds of conversations you are generating. By reviewing the log files of your Web site you can very easily find out how your target audience is reacting to what you're telling them to do. There are free site counters like www.sitemeter.com, and far more elaborate systems from WebTrends and clicktraks. These should be your first stop on the road to a measurement dashboard.

My point here is that the tech geeks out there are adding new measurement tools to your toolbox on a daily basis. But because people are still focused on counting column inches and the weight of the clip book, they're ignoring these tools and whining about why they can't measure. So the next time someone tells you they can't afford measurement or they can't do the research, ask to see their log files.

Wishing you large measures of success,

You know you need to measure your results, but chances are there’s never been enough money in your budget for evaluation. Until now.
KDPaine & Partners’ new Do-It-Yourself Dashboard system combines a Web-based application with professional consulting to enable PR professionals to customize their own PR dashboards. Look here for more information.

1. You’ll learn how to use hard numbers to prove the results of your PR efforts.

2. You’ll learn which are the right vendors for your measurement projects.

3. You’ll learn how to design your program right from the start to be easily measureable.

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51 Durham Point Road, Durham, NH 03824
603-868-1550 fax: 603-868-3346 www.measuresofsuccess.com