How to track outcomes
2. Driving purchase consideration
Most websites share the common goal of driving revenue, but what can you do if your site doesn't have an online cash register? The measurement starting point is identifying key user actions and events (i.e., outcomes) that indicate purchase interest and consideration. Examples include:
- Store locators (which provide geographic insight as well)
- Product or service comparison charts
- Data sheets, online reviews and detailed product or service information
Visitor path analysis that backtracks from these successful outcomes will provide insight into the behaviors leading up to the purchase consideration event. The insights can be used to identify key site paths to streamline and highlight so you can design to encourage purchase consideration.
Let's come back to the Fidelity example for a moment. Note the toll-free phone numbers in these two examples, both only three clicks down from the homepage. First, here's the landing page for Fidelity Capital Markets Services:
Each product hyperlink drives to a service description with a unique toll-free number:
My advice is, unless you are a sole proprietor, never use a single generic phone number for your site -- always route people to the appropriate group, department or even person.
I can't tell you how many times I've heard powerful B2B salespeople say that business doesn't come through the web. Now imagine yourself with your special monthly report of inbound business through your dedicated web phone numbers. It doesn't get much better than that. Unless, of course, you have the inbound calls captured in a CRM system that tells you not only the number of calls, but which ones converted into business, and even how much revenue they generated.
