Red on Marketing Blog

B2B Website Design Checklist

ask@b2bcommunications.com (B2B Communications) — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 16:01:00 GMT

I always experience stress when about to hit 'publish' on a B2B website redesign. Sometimes alot, sometimes a little. Managing that led to making a mental checklist, which you'll find below. It's intended to help those directing or approving the redesign, to check whether a site really is going to do its job. In my experience, if I can enthusiastically answer 'yes!' to all 9 of these questions, we are good to go.

If you have an opportunity to redesign your company's website, you can make a giant leap forward in its effectiveness. Thoughtful redesigns can transform a website generating no or few leads into one generating leads every day.

What does 'thoughtful redesign' mean? To me it means, at minimum:

Meeting branding goals (if they aren't clear, it may be time for from-the-ground-up rebranding)
Meeting user goals (talk with real users; intel also available from website analytics and Sales)

Mental checklist

What does 'meeting branding and user goals' mean? In practice, it means you can say 'yes!' to the following. If you can do that, you're probably good to go and can hit 'publish' with confidence.

Can users now accomplish their goals quicker?
Is our site better organized? Are paths to information clearer than before?
Are labels in the navigation etc familiar and instructive? So users are better oriented now?
Do we have all and only the content needed to instill trust and build credibility?
Are the downloads we offer up to date, authentic, and useful?
Wherever a user lands, do we communicate a clear value proposition?
Can our users share more easily now via social media, PDFs, etc?
Do the design changes better communicate what we stand for?
Does our updated site look great on any device, browser, or operating system?

Even some top brands have failed

While these questions may sound straightforward, they are also very easy to overlook in implementation.Recently Forrester Research released its Best and Worst of Brand Building Web Sites. They looked at 20 top brands through two key questions:

Test A - Does the site cater to user needs?
Test B - Does the site support brand positioning?

The results were shocking:

Only 4 sites passed Test A
Only 7 sites passed Test B
And only 1 site passed both tests!

Fixing branding problems

According to Forrester's Ron Rogowski, “common brand action problems included poor text legibility, confusing category names, and missing or buried content. On the Brand Image side, sites were guilty of layouts, imagery, and production values that failed to support brand positioning. To improve the online brand experience, top firms should document their users’ goals, clearly define their brand attributes, and map relevant attributes to the right target users.”

If you need to plan or evaluate website design changes, try going down the checklist of 9 items above. If you need help, you can view examples of our work and learn about our company here.

Content & Ethics: Why quality control isn't just a practical matter

red@b2bcommunications.com (Rebekah Donaldson) — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 16:00:00 GMT

A while back (I don't see a publish date on it now) I read a post by Sonia Simone titled "The First Rule of Copyblogger." It took my breath away then. It inspires and depresses me now. It gets me thinking about why, as a content marketer, I don't eek by with crappy content.

She writes:

"Content is too often a lame version of work done by a real expert. (You know, someone who cared enough about the topic to actually learn a lot about it.) It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of content marketing. Which means I’m a huge opponent of badly done content marketing. Sloppy, junky, selfish content just gives the legitimate folks a bad name.

"The first rule of Copyblogger is you do not publish content that sucks.... Sure there are tools that will let you hack, mash, smash, and mangle someone else’s content into a word soup that Google thinks is original. Google won’t help you if no one wants to read what you’ve got to say."

Yes.

There's certainly the practical matter of "what produces the best results at the lowest cost?"

And yes, there's the practical-ethical issue of "are we keeping the promise made in the headline, link, ad, etc?"

But beyond that there's an issue of, well, personal integrity. Intellectual honesty. Being worth a damn.

Intrinsic value vs. practical value

Publishing quality content isn't just a practical matter. Quality content is intrinsically valuable.

Regularly publishing crappy content reflects a deep cynicism. About B2B buyers ("it's a truism, but it could generate leads!")... about SEO ("all this content needs to do is get folks to see to our call to action")... about other content marketers ("they'll spot my cynicism but can't object because they have to do it too").

Cynicism squared

The m.o. at work in that third one is marketing content cynicism, squared.

And I've committed it too.

I'm guilty of being intellectually lazy from time to time. (I know you would laugh with me at examples of my horrible articles, but my big ego objects.)

It won't do.

And not just because you instantly spot "sloppy, junky, selfish content" (Sonia Simone's words).

But because I'm better than that.

Augmentation

I'm not objecting to "The First Rule of Copyblogger"'s content. I'm processing it and augmenting. It closes, after all, with:

"Good copy and content writers don’t pore over our favorite writing references just to gain an advantage in our marketing. (Although that’s nice.)

"We do it because it’s fun. We do it because we’re obsessed. We do it because it’s a fantastic game. We do it because we love to watch the human mind at work. We do it because we can. We do it because it’s an awesome high when it works."

Ethics: When a client's wrong, how much dissent is right?

red@b2bcommunications.com (Rebekah Donaldson) — Fri, 25 Aug 2017 16:01:00 GMT

I recently struggled with where to draw a line between giving advice to a client contact and escalating an issue in order to make sure that the client organization got the best results. Input welcome.

I was working with a mid-level manager at a rapidly growing company. I'll call the manager Vinny, and the company Success, Inc. Working with Vinny, we had refreshed Success Inc's branding, created a sharp B2B website design for a new site about to be launched, and built out the site's structure.

Vinny had taken on content creation and implementation. We almost never divide labor with a client in this way. But Success Inc. came to us via a referrer I wanted to cultivate, and I bent our rules (don't tell Rick Roberge!).

During implementation of the content, Vinny created six or seven graphics on his desktop, and sprinkled them on a few pages. Vinny was not a designer. Each graphic used different colors and fonts; some were crammed with poorly written text; all were saved as grainy, low-resolution images. On a scale from 1-10, 10 being the best, I'd rate these graphics around a 2. Trust me here -- this wasn't in one of those gray areas.

Then more and more website pages -- including the home page -- sported Vinny's graphics. The site no longer had a professional look and feel. And that would hurt visit-to-contact conversions, I knew. Which would hurt marketing ROI.

Try #1

I called out the problem at least three times. The first time I was oblique. Probably too oblique. I offered new versions of the graphics, professionally produced by our designers. "Thanks, but no need," was the gist of the reply.

Me: somewhat concerned.

Try #2

The second time I was more direct (I think). I requested a phone call. On it I explained how upgrading to B2B-produced graphics would pay off. "That's great that you're taking time to explain all that," was the gist of Vinny's response, "but they don't seem that problematic."

Me: Now red flags all over about the larger import of this disagreement.

Try #3

Then Vinny asked B2B to design a new banner for a particular page at Success Inc's website. Feeling like a Negative Nancy, I bridged to the topic of the graphics, and said I needed to be blunt in order to be sure I was providing the value that Success, Inc. was paying B2B for. The single most important thing to address before launch were the aforementioned graphics, I said. And with the site launch just days away, a new banner was the wrong place to invest time. Vinny seemed to get it, and was appreciative that I'd pressed the point. He would reflect and get back to me.

When he did, the gist was, "Actually, we really do want that new banner".

Something ain't right

I was taken aback. I'm not used to having thoughtful advice brushed aside. But was the problem just my ego? My gut-check went something like this:

What had I missed? Something about the client's goals and priorities? I didn't think so. But quite often I don't know what I don't know.
Was I acting in accordance with my core values? Yes (strongly).
Would the owner of Success, Inc. be receptive if I contacted her? Uncertain. She had explicitly delegated such decisions to Vinny.
Would Vinny be resentful if I contacted her boss? Yes (strongly).
Did I have a duty to do it anyway? The site would likely convert visitors, even with the terrible graphics. Just at a lower rate. So the stakes weren't high enough to warrant the escalation, I thought.

So we delivered a cool banner per their request, while shaking our heads.

What would you have done? What could I have done differently?

B2B Websites: Lead generation form dos & don'ts

red@b2bcommunications.com (Rebekah Donaldson) — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 16:01:00 GMT

Sometimes I pit my intuition against the real world at Which Test Won. One recent conversion optimization test on a lead generation form yielded results with a twist.

The website Which Test Won has some thought-provoking quizzes and examples. You can check out your gut reactions by picking which of two versions you think would yield the better response. Then you can click through to see if you were right, and read an analysis on the differences between the A and B samples.*

The one I'm writing about today is covered in "Results for: What’s The Best Way To Get Qualified Leads?" (viewing article requires membership).* First, there's the test itself, two versions of a contact page. They've also posted an interview with the person who designed it: Josh Krafchin of Clever Zebo.

The interview is valuable because we get to see the original page that led to the A/B revisions*, and we learn his thinking behind the decisions that he made.

Clear the clutter

This test was for American Life, a real estate development company that helps foreign investors get visas to come to the United States. The original contact page was way too busy. There was the detailed contact form itself, of course. Then off to the left was a column of links. Off to the right was a column of unrelated information. Across the top was the navigation bar.

"You really need to isolate what is the information we want from someone and highlight that on the page, rather than there being a lot of distractions," Krafchin says in the interview.

The revised contact page would present a simpler experience: what the company does, why we should do business with it, and how to get in touch.

Qualify or not?

Ah, but which revision would prove better? Both followed the same basic formula. The logo anchors the top of the page. Next comes a headline that explains what American Life does. The form takes center stage. There are two art elements — a background photo of a large commercial building, and a small shot of passports. At the bottom, all the key information about the company is spelled out in bullet points: What you need to know about the firm, how to work with it, why the process is safe, etc.

With this design there's no need to click away from the contact form. Everything a visitor needs to know appears "above the fold," meaning that on a standard screen you won't have to scroll down to see any of it.

"I was expecting that this version would have fewer overall leads, but of those leads we'd have a higher percentage who are higher quality," Krafchin says. The higher quality would mean less wasted time for the sales staff.

The result?

"My personal instinct on the test was wrong," Krafchin says. It's just conjecture, but he thinks people were driven off by the banner highlighting the $500,000 minimum, even if they qualified.

I have to agree that the $500,000 minimum looks intimidating. It's getting toward the end of the month, so I don't have $500,000 sitting around the house.

*Note: To see full text of articles at the links above, you need a WTW membership. I'm a Pro member but otherwise have no financial connection.

Ethics, Leadership, and Protecting Veterans

red@b2bcommunications.com (Rebekah Donaldson) — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 17:51:39 GMT

"Veterans are not a charity, we're an investment." -Paul Reichkhoff

I've been moved by Peter Shankman's recent comments on Facebook about responding to the Paris attacks; Craig Newmark's posts leading up to Veteran's Day; and Paul Reickhoff's all-around badassness.

But I need to start this post with an example: USMC 0311 Rifleman, Roberto Pena. He recently decided to return to Iraq to fight ISIS. The NBC affiliate in San Diego did a piece on him, which you can watch here.

What a terrifying position to be in. For both Pena and his wife.

"Please hold"

But who hears "please hold", stateside? Our combat veterans. Like Pena. I know that from years of first-hand experience waiting on hold on behalf of a combat veteran.

I'm not a hawk. I'm not naive about the military industrial complex. I'm an American. A divorced single mom. An educated, empowered woman. A Jew. My existence is obnoxious to ISIS. They are rich. They're ruthless.

Yet I am free and safe right now. I can say and do what I want. I'm not being stoned. Not sweltering and invisible under black sheets. Not disappeared.

Why not? What stands between me and a gang of globe-trotting, heavily armed psychopaths?

Marines. Airmen. Soldiers. Sailors. Coasties. Rough men and women who are suffering on my behalf. Killing on my behalf.

Freedom feels is more expensive now than at any time before in my life.

What can I do? I can hire combat veterans. That's a start. I can teach my kids to admire veterans. That's a start. I can speak up today. To say, based on years of first-hand experience waiting on hold on behalf of a combat veteran, that we are not protecting them. That we give far less than value received.

What do veterans want?

Generalizing seems absurd, but here's how veteran Paul Reichkoff answers that question:

"Promote good policies. Listen to our community. Donate your time and money. Or walk on down to the recruiting office and enlist."

#Give2Veterans #VetsRising

Unbound: A different kind of roadmap

red@b2bcommunications.com (Rebekah Donaldson) — Sun, 15 Nov 2015 17:00:00 GMT

For years I've been online pals with Rick Roberge. When he gives advice, he serves it straight up. Now Rick and Unbound Growth co-founder Carole Mahoney have posted a 10-page whitepaper, "The Unbound Growth Map", designed to help new or established businesses get customers and get sustainable. Here are my takeaways from it.

As they say in the intro, it's not everything you need to know, but it goes through some questions to ask, typical obstacles, and a list of strengths, skills, processes and behaviors that need to be developed.

Yes/no kickers

It starts with eight questions to ask about a potential customer. The kicker here is that both the seller and the buyer must answer yes to each question. Otherwise there's no point in continuing. Here are the first four:

Does this person have a problem that I can fix?
Do they know it?
Do they want it fixed?
Can they tell me to fix it?

Then comes a short discussion on skills. Basically, they aren't enough by themselves. Your heart has to be in it too. There's a section on goal-setting too.

Getting there

The meat of the white paper is how you get from here to there. The easiest part is figuring out how many customers you need to hit the goals you have set. But where will you find your buyers, and how long will it take to convert them to customers?

"You have to learn where your customers are and decide whether or not you want to be there. Once you figure out where your buyers are, you have to learn what they want to learn about you, and how they want to learn it," the authors advise. Some will want it in a podcast, others will want to see a 50 percent off sale, still others will want to see you at a trade show.

What you prefer doesn't matter. It's all about meeting the customer where the customer wants to be met, something we also mostly advocate here at B2B.

Obstacles

The white paper includes a good illustration of the sales funnel. It starts wide at the top, with hundreds of people searching for your product. But maybe only half will visit your website, and only half of those might see your call to action. Fewer still will go to your landing page, and only a fraction of those will fill out the form. The attrition continues through the sales call, the meeting, becoming a prospect and being qualified. You may end up with only one customer out of that huge starting group.

There are other obstacles to consider. For example, it's hard to be objective about your own business. There are things you don't know, and you may not even know that you don't know them. If you are the boss, who holds you accountable? And who helps you develop your skills?

If you are just getting a business off the ground, or you feel like it's time for a refresher course on the basics, give it a read.

Here's what I say when asked how to pick images for LinkedIn articles*

red@b2bcommunications.com (Rebekah Donaldson) — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 15:00:00 GMT

Everyone who contributes articles to LinkedIn can put a 700x400 image at the top of their piece. The image accompanies the article title everywhere. But around 60-90% of articles contributed have images that are more liability than asset.

Below are the nine tests I subject stock images to, an example of a top contributor running particularly effective images; and a custom link for those with little time or experience choosing stock.

Spotting cool stock

If stock is one or more of the following, there's a good chance it'll be an asset:

New. Seldom or never before seen. New editorial stock, for example.
Linked. Illustrates something central to article. Connection with content.
Candid. Captures a plausible expression, action, or moment in time.
Pro. High production values. Costs $50 or more if royalty free.
Authentic. Real people. Not models. Not airbrushed. Not perfect.

Avoiding lame stock

If stock is one or more of the following, there's a good chance it'll be a liability:

Played-out. Shot or model familiar or strongly associated with other content/ads. Examples: http://bit.ly/played-out-stock
Schmaltzy. Action or expression overdone, implausible. Example: Exec smashing PC monitor/laptop in frustration. Example: http://bit.ly/stock-schmaltzy
Dated. Smacks of '90s!' or both. Examples: anything involving signs, puzzle pieces, bullhorns, jumping, paper piles, or closeups of phones. Example: http://bit.ly/stock-dated
Free. Looks like something scraped from tumbler, homemade, or found via google image search for images tagged for reuse with modification. (Best examples are at sketchy sites so not linking.)
Slick. Model poses as ordinary person. Example: TV-ready 20 year old stands at head of conference room explaining company financials. Example: http://bit.ly/stock-implausible

How did I arrive at these tests for stock images? Over 20 years I've spent 10,000 hours developing marketing collateral and websites for 100+ companies -- ranging from as large as Allstate and Cisco to as small as a one-attorney practice. Along the way, I've collaborated with business owners who loathe stock photography so much they recoil at the thought of using any, ever (they usually come around)... with companies where collateral indicates that there is no filter at all regarding stock (they are typically happy to offload decisions about stock)...and lots in between.

Does any contributor routinely run header images that work? Yes, some do. Articles by Dan Roth, for example, generally have images that absolutely work.

(Yes, most are pro editorial images. I think the one shown here, for example, is by Getty photographer Mike Coppola. It would cost about $160 to run a slightly different color version of it at my blog for three years.)

So. I should be using Coppola-caliber pics. I'm not, yet. On the other hand, I've got those oodles of hours in the trenches. I feel pretty confident. And I like the picking process.

Low confidence re picking stock?

If you don't have oodles of experience with picking stock and/or don't like doing it, take heart. You're in the majority! If you still have to do it, I suggest this:

Go to http://bit.ly/getty-RF-blurred. That bitly link should take you to the Getty Images website's collection of out-of-focus images that are royalty-free (not rights-managed) creative (not editorial) stock. Example below.
Find a collection or photographer with a decent number of stock images available, and try to stick with using their stuff for 6+ months.
Purchase at web resolution.

Images from Getty are taken by pros for pros, then screened by pros. Anticipate about $50 a piece for web resolution. And you'll sleep better knowing that a huge fail is unlikely if you choose from the pool of images suggested above.

Chime in

Your turn. Where do you search for stock images? What are your filters, or criteria? Which contributor do you think runs effective images? Any story or advice to share about picking stock images to run for LinkedIn articles?

About the Author

Before consulting, I was in marketing directors' shoes. Now I write about B2B marketing as a consultant who's been on the client side, tasked with screening and managing marketing consultants while staying abreast of best practices and managing labor costs, quality, consistency, and results. I welcome comments.

More by Rebekah Donaldson »

Licensed per Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Intl License.

* Title inspired by Roth's advice and examples. Aka a rip off.

135,000 Horsepower In 469 Words

red@b2bcommunications.com (Rebekah Donaldson) — Fri, 15 May 2015 19:10:00 GMT

A client is poised for launch... into the record books.

This 30 second video debuted in Ohio during the 2015 Super Bowl. It features the Bloodhound Supersonic car's pursuit of the land speed record.

Swagelok Company’s high-performance fluid systems are poised to help Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green and his Bloodhound Supersonic Car reach 1,000 mph and achieve a new land speed world record in 2016.

Swagelok components are integral to the safe operation of the rocket car: winglet operation, air brake operation, rocket engine oxidizer system, consistent pressure delivery, fuel delivery, sealing the pump and rocket engine refueling.

So Swagelok Northern California, is blogging about the project. B2B Communications's top writer, Robert Celaschi, and top account manager, Fiona Hughes, are part of the team helping them do it. The following is an excerpt from one of the blog articles:

"The Bloodhound looks so low and sleek that it's easy to miss how gigantic it is. The car is 44 feet long and weighs 17,000 pounds. To get a monster like that moving at 1,000 mph takes a lot of muscle, and the Bloodhound has it: three engines with a combined 135,000 horsepower.

"First there's a Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet engine, originally designed to sit in a Eurofighter Typhoon fighter plane. For extra thrust, the Bloodhound also has a Nammo hybrid rocket. Then, as an auxiliary power unit, a Jaguar supercharged V8 engine drives a pump to supply high-test peroxide at a rate of more than 9 gallons per second to the rocket.

"The rest of the car is a mix of car and aircraft technology, with the front half made of carbon fiber and the back half made of metal panels. Altogether it has 3,500 components. One hundred and ten man-years have been invested in the design, build and manufacture of the Bloodhound." [more...]

It's a privilege to support Rod, Tony, Jeff, and the whole team at Swagelok Northern California. Follow them at https://www.linkedin.com/company/swagelok-northern-california to get notified when they post something new.

About the Author

More by Rebekah Donaldson »

This article licensed per a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Intl License.

Why the Executive Editor of LinkedIn Changed His Headline

red@b2bcommunications.com (Rebekah Donaldson) — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 19:56:00 GMT

Like alot of B2B marketers, I used to write headlines with numbers in them whenever possible — thinking they work the best. Here's what made me change my mind.

Last month LinkedIn executive editor Daniel Roth rewrote the headline of a popular post.

Headline before: The 7 Secrets to Writing Killer Content on LinkedIn
Headline now: Here's What I Tell People When They Ask How to Crush it as a LinkedIn Writer

And here's the note he stuck in the piece when he changed it:

[Note: If one headline isn't working, test others. This post, for example, used to be called the 7 Secrets to Writing Great Content on LinkedIn, but we find that listicles are bad for engagement — though fine for raw clicks — so I changed it.]

Why does Daniel Roth's comment matter?

Before becoming LinkedIn's top editor, Roth led at Fortune and Wired. Business Insider calls him the "most powerful business journalist on the Internet". Still, he's intent on improving.

Marketers have been recommending list articles with number headlines for years, on the premise that they're more engaging than any other kind. It works for Buzzfeed, for example. And some also cite Nathan Safran's report to Moz followers in 5 Data Insights into the Headlines Readers Click that "'number' headlines resonated most by far — a full 15% more than the second place."

Seems like a slam dunk. But if you read further, Safran emphasizes: "we don't think the data suggests a directive to publishers to write every headline in 'number format." (What he thinks the data does suggest is interesting.)

In February I fiddled with my own long-form posts on LinkedIn. I added tags, spiffed up images, and shrank headlines from 10-20 words each to 2-4 words so they fit in LinkedIn's left menus.* In the process, I changed the headline How I'm a B2B Marketing Consultant and Sleep at Night: 8 Principles I Live By to A Marketer's Daily Affirmations. The rewrite wasn't based on empirical data or advice from a brilliant editor, though. It was based on a whispered warning from my gut: listicles seem a bit trashy nowadays. Reflecting on Roth's example, maybe I managed to do the right thing (experiment with headlines, axe a listicle) for a feeble reason (bunches of hunches).

Go to the full post at LinkedIn that includes Daniel Roth's reply »

About the Author

In addition to kids and dogs, Rebekah Donaldson has a blog monster. She writes to feed it, and has found articles with angst are the most filling. So she writes about her fails (besides her first marriage), life-rocking discoveries (beyond The Oatmeal), and prayers du jour (other than the one involving Daniel Roth). She lives in Davis, California — 2,741.9 blessed miles from her roots near Dupont Circle in Washington D.C.

More by Rebekah Donaldson »

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Intl License.

Guesses, Fibs, & Reports: The 2 glaring problems with end-of-month reporting

red@b2bcommunications.com (Rebekah Donaldson) — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 16:46:00 GMT

At a Silicon Valley PR agency where I used to work, end-of-month reports were a giant combination of legitimate (albeit pretty late) information, guesses, and fibs. At B2B Communications, clients view results directly, as often as they want.

In the late 90s I worked for a Silicon Valley PR agency that launched business to business technology companies. If you were a client, you'd have received long reports at the beginning of each month, recounting activity in 15-minute increments and results over the past 30 days.

Naturally, as an employee of this agency, I was required to provide detailed end-of-month reports. So after 300+ hours of delivering client services each month, I spent 20+ hours preparing reports.

The goal: cost-justify retainer dollars by linking every activity, every action, to a concrete result.

"Makes sense," you're probably thinking, "that's what I'd want if I were investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in consultants."

I know. Cost-justifying does make sense. But I was absolutely terrible at end of month reporting.

Guesses and fibs

For one thing, when your job is to foster relationships (eg editors), not every activity ties to a tangible result. Not even close.

For another, I had gaps in my records. I did not record what I did during every 15 minute increment. So to come up with what I had to send, I guessed. And worse... I fibbed. I still feel guilty about it, 20 years later.

And that was just at the individual level (me). A higher-up had to roll individual reports together.

On paper, we were sublimely efficient pitching drones.

And some months we truly did do great things. Great things like helping our client form a relationship with the chief analyst in their niche at Gartner Group. Like getting on the cover of Business 2.0. Like winning a plum speaking opportunity at a prestigious conference.

Other months, not so much.

If you got one of these agency reports, what would you have done with it? Take the self-assessment with a grain of salt. And turn attention back to key performance indicators that executives care about, like potential deals with customers and VCs.

Agencies controlled key information - and that information was power. Moreover, the information was pretty far after the fact.

The right marketing system ensures accountability

If you are our client today, you don't get rosy self-assessments about last month's activity. Instead, because we'll make sure you have right marketing system in place, you can see marketing results pretty much in real time. You choose when you get what information about results, and you get the information directly - unvarnished.

For example:

Have we succeeded in getting your book to market (like with Greg Carroll's Mastering 21st Century Enterprise Risk Management)? Look for referrals and conversions to starting increasing on the same day.
Have we earned you press coverage (like Fiona helped Innovationship land in Forbes a couple of months back)? That will show up in good inbound links and an uptick in downloads and meeting requests, starting the hour the article appears.
Did we help you make powerful landing pages and emails about a new video series (as with the When Will It Burst series produced by Jeff Hopkins)? You'll get a sense of click through rates within minutes of sending.
Is a particular tweet or LinkedIn post getting shared by your prospects and clients?Likes and shares can happen in seconds...

Opt for extremely granular, as-it-happens reporting if you want. Or choose to get just the highest level of info once a month. Or set granularity and frequency anywhere in between.

So, there a live web cam in the hen house now. The fox has disappeared. And us chickens can concentrate on the real work: laying eggs.