Metrics

It is always important when designing a marketing strategy to keep metrics in mind. Metrics are a unit of measurement that is important for defining what constitutes successful value-exchange and how its worth will be measured for a particular company (Stokes 33). Stokes explains the importance of KPI's - Key Performance Indicators - that are metrics that will help to indicate whether CBMA's objectives are being met (494). According to Stokes, since there are many metrics to be analyzed, KPI's are critical to helping a company understand whether or not they objectives are being met (496). The objective of CBMA is to establish an online presence by May 2012, just in time to start booking makeovers for wedding and prom season. All of the platforms we intend to use - Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Website - to create an online presence for CBMA are all equipped with tools which automatically measure how many likes, followers, views, mentions, etc. this company is getting. CBMA can also gauge her level of customer satisfaction by responding to their comments and critiques and adjusting her advertising strategy accordingly. The KPI’s that are relevant to determining the level of customer involvement with the brand would include:
 * The number times CBMA's various social media pages have been viewed
 * The length of the visit per page
 * The amount of unique visitors to the page (including new, repeat, and return visitors)
 * Increase amount of fans, followers, views on videos, etc.

These are the most basic web metrics according to Stokes, and just offer information on how much web traffic CBMA's brand is receiving (496). By looking at repeat and returning visitors, Stokes explains that we can help determine how these various sites function in terms of creating brand loyalty, as well as increasing the overall number of visitors (497).Although initially the objective of CBMA is to establish an online presence, the ultimate goal for this newly developing company is to start generating revenue, by booking clientele, such as bridal parties, for at-home beauty makeovers by May 2012. The KPI's that would be relevant to determining the success of the brand in reaching this objective may include:
 * Conversion rate (number of visitors booking services)
 * Can increase this by offering promotional coupons or offering discounts on services
 * Average Order Value
 * ROI
 * Number of Social Shares

It is also essential that we consider what is known as Return on Investment (ROI) - the ratio of cost to profit - when developing a digital marketing strategy. There is little initial cost to starting up CBMA's business. Cassandra already has most of the beauty supplies necessary to begin servicing at-home clients - whatever she doesn't have she can purchase at a discounted rate because of her qualifications. In addition, social media platforms offer free advertising space for Cassandra to being marketing her services. The only additional cost (other than supplies) would be the cost of transportation to and from various locations throughout the GTA. If CBMA proves to be successful, and is consistently booking in bridal parties as well as other clients, there will be a high ROI for Cassandra. Future costs for CBMA may be incurred due to high demand for her services and her needing to hire additional employees and possibly a larger marketing team devoted to handling their online presence. Furthermore, Cassandra could choose to buy online advertising / sponsored links on Facebook, Google, or other search engines, which may present an additional cost to be factored in.