In an Internet marketing context, corrective action is the implementation of these
solutions as updates to web site content, design and associated marketing communica-
tions. At this stage the continuous cycle repeats, possibly with modified goals. Bourne et
al. (2000) and Plant (2000) suggest that in addition to reviewing objectives, the suitabil-
ity of the metrics should also be reviewed and revised.
Measurement is not something that can occur on an ad-hoc basis because if it is left
to the individual they may forget to collect the data needed. A ‘measurement culture’ is
one in which each employee is aware of the need to collect data on how well the com-
pany is performing and on how well it is meeting its customers’ needs.Stage 2: Defining the performance metrics framework
Measurement for assessing the effectiveness of Internet marketing can be thought of as
answering these questions:1 Are corporate objectives identified in the Internet marketing strategy being met?
2 Are marketing objectives defined in the Internet marketing strategy and plan achieved?
3 Are marketing communications objectives identified in the Internet marketing plan
achieved? How efficient are the different promotional techniques used to attract visitors
to a site?These measures can also be related to the different levels of marketing control speci-
fied by Kotler (1997). These include strategic control (question 1), profitability control
(question 1), annual-plan control (question 2) and efficiency control (question 3).
Efficiency measures are more concerned with minimising the costs of online market-
ing while maximising the returns for different areas of focus such as acquiring visitors to
a web site, converting visitors to outcome or achieving repeat business.
Chaffey (2000) suggests that organisations define a measurement framework which
defines groupings of specific metrics used to assess Internet marketing performance. He
suggests that suitable measurement frameworks will fulfil these criteria:(a) Include both macro-level effectiveness metrics which assess whether strategic goals
are achieved and indicate to what extent e-marketing contributes to the business
(revenue contribution and return on investment). This criterion covers the different
levels of marketing control specified by Kotler (1997), including strategic control,
profitability control and annual-plan control.
(b) Include micro-level metrics which assess the efficiency of e-marketing tactics and
implementation. Wisner and Fawcett (1991) note that typically organisations use a
hierarchy of measures and they should check that the lower-level measures support
the macro-level strategic objectives. Such measures are often referred to as ‘perform-
ance drivers’, since achieving targets for these measures will assist in achieving
strategic objectives. E-marketing performance drivers help optimise e-marketing by
attracting more site visitors and increasing conversion to desired marketing out-
comes. These achieve the marketing efficiency control specified by Kotler (1997).
The research by Agrawal et al. (2001), who assessed companies on metrics defined in
three categories of attraction, conversion and retention as part of an e-performance
scorecard, uses a combination of macro- and micro-level metrics.
(c) Assess the impact of the e-marketing on the satisfaction, loyalty and contribution of
key stakeholders (customers, investors, employees and partners) as suggested by
Adams et al. (2000).CHAPTER 9· MAINTAINING AND MONITORING THE ONLINE PRESENCE