Sixty-eight percent of marketers consider paid advertising crucial to their company’s marketing strategy. Moreover, in 2018 programmatic digital display advertising attracted almost $50 million in spending from US advertisers. As such, it should by now be common sense that, to make their marketing campaigns more efficient and effective, marketers should be leveraging the power of performance marketing software.
Indeed, the benefits of doing so speak for themselves. Today, advertisers and marketers can use performance marketing tracking platforms or software to analyze and track the performance of their marketing campaigns in real time. These platforms also provide insights into key metrics such as conversions, clicks, and revenue, too, helping advertisers optimize their campaigns and get the best results possible.
Performance marketing software uses a unique tracking link to monitor user behavior and track conversions across various channels, such as social media, search engines, and display advertising.
Some of these platforms also provide the option to create ads, optimize campaigns, and create reports for relevant parties. Through this software, advertisers can make data-driven decisions using the information they receive from these platforms, helping them maximize their return on investments (ROIs). Simply put, a performance marketing tracking platform helps marketers effectively manage and improve their digital marketing efforts.
The risks of sticking with an outdated tracking platform
Are you still relying on an outdated tracking platform? It’s time to reconsider. Getting stuck in the past can be a major roadblock to your success. Here are some ways outmoded software can stand in the way between you and profit:
Outdated technology
Using performance marketing software that is no longer being updated and made adaptable to industry changes can pose a risk to your business, as it may not be compatible with the latest marketing technologies and trends. With outdated technology, your platform may not be able to accurately track or report on your marketing campaigns, leading to inaccurate insights and ultimately hurting your ROI.
Limited capabilities
Old tracking platforms may not have the same capabilities as advanced platforms, limiting your ability to optimize your marketing campaigns. For example, they may not provide granular reporting, track multi-channel campaigns, or offer real-time data insights. Limited capabilities can lead to missed opportunities, poor campaign performance, and lost revenue.
Security risks
Outdated tracking platforms are often more susceptible to security risks such as hacking or data breaches, which can compromise the sensitive data belonging to your customers and even your own business. If your tracking platform is not up-to-date with the latest security measures and protocols, you could put your business and customers at risk of cyber-attacks, fraud, and data theft.
Sticking with an inefficient tracking platform can lead to subpar performance, limited insights, and potential security risks. As such, it’s important to regularly evaluate your tracking platform to ensure that you are using the latest technology with the best capabilities and security features to support your marketing goals and protect your business.
Signs it’s time to make the switch
Let’s go over the common problems and pain points that make marketers wonder if they chose the right performance marketing software. Read on for solutions as well as tips on what you need to consider if you are planning to switch to a different marketing tracking platform:
1. You are wasting time and throwing away money
a) Because you have insufficient automation tools at hand
Digital marketing is an ever-evolving industry, and you can only stay ahead of the competition only when you are able to constantly optimize your software. Unfortunately, many marketers and advertisers still rely on outdated performance marketing tools with limited automation capabilities.
This can be a big problem, as manual processes are prone to errors and inefficiency. Some of the manual processes in performance marketing include:
- Manual campaign optimizations
- Bid adjustments
These are time-consuming tasks that require a lot of resources. When there is a lack of automation tools in outdated performance marketing tools, it can waste your time and money. It can also become a hindrance to your success in performance marketing.
The solution? A complete and innovative automation toolkit
Innovative and advanced performance marketing software can automate most tasks and processes, thereby helping brands become efficient. When looking for a performance marketing tool, you should check the platform’s automation features to see how it can benefit you.
Here are some of the things you should consider:
Workflows: You need to look for a performance marketing tracking platform that allows you to define workflows or processes. Ensure it enables you to select the entities on which the conditions are checked, and then define the actions the system needs to take if the conditions match.
Once you’ve defined these processes, it should also ideally be able to take care of the operations. After the workflow is activated, the tool should be able to check for the conditions and automatically execute the tasks as and when the conditions match too.
Optimization tool: It is also important to check if the platform provides an optimization tool that can configure various strategies to improve the overall performance of your offers by bringing in high or good-quality traffic.
When impressions or clicks enter the system, setting up the quality standards will allow the software to check if the incoming traffic is of good quality.
b) Because of limited reporting and lack of real-time data insights
In performance marketing, data is crucial. Which is another way of saying that it is absolutely everything. Advertisers and marketers are only able to make informed decisions when they have access to real-time data insights.
Unfortunately, many outdated performance marketing tracking tools do not provide in-depth reporting and real-time data insights. As a result, marketers waste time and money by making decisions based on incomplete or outdated information.
In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, the ability to respond to changes in real time can make a significant difference in the success of a campaign. Outdated performance marketing tools may not have the capability to provide real-time data insights, leaving marketers at a disadvantage and potentially costing them money.
Limited reporting capabilities can make it difficult for advertisers and marketers to accurately measure their campaigns’ success. Without having access to detailed reports, it can be challenging to understand which campaigns are performing well and which ones need to be optimized. Consequently, marketers may waste money on underperforming campaigns, leading to suboptimal results and lower ROI.
The solution? A robust reporting tool to slice and dice your data
Advertisers and marketers can optimize their campaigns and achieve better results by switching to an innovative performance marketing tool that offers comprehensive reporting and real-time data insights.
With detailed reports, marketers can track key metrics such as conversions, clicks, and revenue, and make data-driven decisions to optimize their campaigns for better results. Real-time data insights can provide valuable information on campaign performance, enabling marketers to adjust their campaigns quickly and efficiently.
Here is one such feature that you need to look out for:
Alerts: Campaigns often have key performance indicators (KPIs) where a simple mistake or an overlooked metric can lead to a loss in revenue. When there is a proper alert system already in place, however, marketers can receive notifications that will help them avoid such problems. They can use this feature to find out if there have been any drastic changes in the platform affecting their requirements.
Marketers can also set up alerts related to KPIs using certain thresholds. Suppose, for instance, that your performance marketing software observes patterns or numbers that do not follow the KPIs threshold. If this happened then you’d be able to receive an instant notification, and the tool would automatically pause traffic on that campaign.
c) Because you have to sacrifice data during frequent outages
Another reason to consider switching to a different performance marketing tool is if your current tool experiences frequent outages, causing you to sacrifice critical data. In simple terms, when performance marketing tools go down, you can’t accurately track your campaign’s performance.
What’s more, you might miss out on vital information that can help you optimize your campaign and achieve objectives. Such outages can also lead to wasted ad spend and lost revenue.
The solution? A reliable tracking partner that guarantees platform stability
If you’re experiencing these issues with your current performance marketing tool, it’s time to look for a reliable tracking partner that guarantees platform stability.
You need a tool that can provide real-time data insights, automate your workflows, and track your campaigns without frequent outages.
A reliable tracking partner can help you save time and money by streamlining your marketing processes, providing accurate data insights and optimizing your campaigns for maximum ROI.
d) Because your platform provider does not innovate to solve specific issues and does not adapt to a rapidly changing ecosystem
Change is the only constant in today’s fast-paced digital world. The digital marketing ecosystem is continually evolving, and platforms need to keep up with these changes if they want to remain relevant. As such, if your performance marketing tool provider is not up-to-date with the latest trends, you risk falling behind your competitors.
Moreover, you may also face issues like slow page loads and non-responsive UIs. Your tracking software may even lack some crucial features, and if your platform provider is not innovative enough to address these issues, it can significantly affect your ROI and performance marketing efforts.
The Solution? An adaptable platform built to solve problems
If you want to avoid these issues, look for a platform that has an innovative and agile team that can solve specific problems and adapt to the ever-changing digital marketing landscape. Choose a provider who’s willing to implement new features, update their platform regularly, and keep up with industry standards and trends. Never settle for a platform that is behind the times or doesn’t have the features you need to drive success. It’s a mistake you can’t afford.
2. You are not feeling prepared for privacy changes that will affect your business
Because your tracking platform does not provide a solution offering privacy while also ensuring your campaigns are measured and monitored accurately
This is a significant challenge in the field of digital advertising and campaign tracking. On the one hand, there is a growing concern among users about their online privacy, leading to demands for more secure and private online experiences. On the other hand, accurate measurement and monitoring of advertising campaigns are crucial for businesses to evaluate their performance and optimize their strategies.
The problem lies in finding a perfect balance between privacy and accurate campaign tracking. Traditional tracking platforms often rely on collecting vast amounts of user data, which can raise privacy concerns and lead to potential data breaches or misuse. This conflict creates a dilemma for businesses that aim to respect user privacy while obtaining valuable insights from campaign tracking data.
Without a solution that ensures privacy, businesses may face challenges in gaining users’ trust, especially in an era where privacy is becoming a top priority. Additionally, inaccurate or incomplete tracking data may hinder the ability to assess campaign effectiveness and make informed decisions, leading to wasted resources and suboptimal results.
The solution? A holistic privacy package enabling you to focus on creating successful campaigns
For this, you need to find a tracking software offering an advanced privacy suite or features such as user consent management, data privacy policies, and secure data storage.
By implementing a complete privacy solution, you can make sure that your campaigns fully comply with the latest privacy laws and regulations without sacrificing accuracy and efficiency.
Additionally, check for software that has the ability to conduct privacy impact assessments (PIAs) so that you can identify and assess potential privacy risks and develop mitigation strategies.
3. You are not feeling supported
Because of insufficient resources, poor onboarding, and long response time
One of the most frustrating experiences in using a performance marketing tool is feeling unsupported by the platform provider. Insufficient resources, poor onboarding, and long response times can leave you stranded, unsure of how to optimize your campaigns, and uncertain of how to harness the platform’s capabilities.
When you encounter technical issues or need assistance with a specific feature, waiting for days to receive a response can cause delays and hinder your ability to execute your marketing strategy effectively.
The solution? A dedicated client support team, personalized onboarding, and an extensive knowledge base
A reliable performance marketing tool will have a support team available 24/7 for queries or questions. Moreover, a personalized onboarding process can help ensure that you understand the platform’s features and capabilities, and can use them to their full potential. This onboarding process should include customized training sessions and resources catering to your needs.
Lastly, a comprehensive knowledge base can provide quick and easy access to information on using specific features, troubleshooting issues, and optimizing your campaigns. This database should include video tutorials, step-by-step guides, and other helpful resources that can assist you in navigating the platform independently.
With the right resources and support, you can feel confident using your performance marketing tool, knowing that you have the help you need when needed.
Migration: make sure to choose a partner that offers easy migration with a migration assistant and comprehensive support
Migration can be a challenging process when switching to a new performance marketing tool. This task can be time-consuming and complex, leading to campaign disruptions and revenue loss. Without the right support and guidance, businesses can face significant challenges when transferring settings and data from the old platform to the new one. Data security and integrity can also be compromised during migration, leading to inaccurate campaign tracking and reporting.
When choosing a performance marketing tracking platform, you should find one offering easy migration with a migration assistant. This tool will guide businesses through migration, ensuring data integrity and security. A migration assistant will help businesses transfer their campaigns, creatives, and settings with minimal disruption and downtime.
Moreover, a reliable migration assistant also will allow businesses to seamlessly transfer data from their previous platform to the new one. It should ensure that all campaign data is accurately transferred, including tracking links, conversion data, and targeting settings. It will help businesses avoid discrepancies in their campaign data and ensure accurate tracking and reporting.
Choosing a partner with a reliable migration assistant can save your company time and money. It eliminates the need for manual data entry and reduces the risk of data loss, guaranteeing a smooth transition from the current platform to the new one. Furthermore, businesses should choose a partner that provides guidance and support throughout the migration process to help them overcome any challenges.
In conclusion
Since you already use a tracking platform, you are aware of the importance of marketing measurement. Sticking to outdated performance marketing software may be a bad option, especially since now there are platforms that have better features and advanced, innovative solutions that can boost your ROI.
If any of the above-mentioned pain points resonate with you, or if you feel that your current provider is either underperforming or has become insufficient to meet your expanding needs, it might be the right time to make the switch.
