The digital age has brought with it many conveniences. We now have the internet in our pockets, a watch that tells us to regularly get up and move and cars that can drive themselves. The parts of our personal lives that used to be led by us, are now prompted by technology.

The same goes for marketing. With the digital age upon us, and the sales and marketing process migrating rapidly towards google, websites and social – technology prompts us again. Measuring the success of your online marketing and sales efforts is easy done, and “closing the loop” from your customers interest to a completed transaction is completely mapped.

So, what does “closing the loop” mean?

Closing the loop essentially means combining all the data you have on a customer from the marketing and sales teams.  This goes from their very first touch with your website, all the way to when they closed as a customer, and sometimes even beyond that.

In order to close the loop, your website will need to have your website linked to a customer relationship management (CRM) tool, in addition to marketing automation software that records and collates visitor data.  If you want to make your life easier, choose software that provides both so you can avoid jumping around too much.  HubSpot for example does this, and you can host your website on there too, but there are a few options available.

The 4 key steps to closing the loop are:

2. The first touch
   Where they landed and where they came from. This is great to assess which paid marketing tools are actually generating revenue for you (not just collecting site visitors), as well as uncover opportunities in areas that you could be doing more in such as fixing up your SEO or refining your social media targeting. 
3. The browsing
   Their interactions they have with your site. This helps to understand which pages are high performers, and which information your customers are engaging with.
4. Converting into a lead  
   Leading on from where your visitors are browsing, you can see more of why they converted. Mapping HOW they converted is equally important, as this will tell you how far through the buyer’s journey they are.
5. Converting into a customer
   Credit the original source and close the loop. This will show you which avenues were ultimately generating customers for your business.

The benefits of closing the loop

Whether you are a one person business looking to use their website as an extended sales team, or a large business with a full sales and marketing team, this continual flow of customer information can give you a really organic look at your customer’s engagement with your business.

By closing the loop, your business will be able to:

1. Learn more about your ideal customers
2. Allocate time and budget more effectively
3. Greater alignment between marketing and sales teams (more complete funnel)

Closed-loop marketing can benefit your company in many ways, but it’s only as useful as you make it.  The more you embrace the data and utilise it in your strategy, the better the overall result will be.  The good thing is, it’s never too early or late to implement it for your business, so if you haven’t already, move this higher up your list of priorities and start closing the loop.