Businesses of all types and sizes distribute electronic documents to their customers and prospects. Although the specific objectives of electronic document distribution campaigns vary greatly, all companies that distribute digital content have a strong interest in maximizing document performance.
The term "document performance" refers to how effectively and economically any particular document is achieving its specific business objectives. Document performance has become a significant – though poorly understood – issue in recent years, as the number of companies distributing digital content has grown rapidly.
Why do businesses distribute electronic documents?
Electronic document distribution has become a central marketing tactic for many companies. Documents are distributed through many channels including websites, email and syndication networks. The types of documents distributed include data sheets, product brochures, white papers, case studies, press releases and research reports.
Generally, businesses distribute electronic documents with two key purposes in mind:
- Deliver content to readers.
Companies hope to reach
- readers within a specific target audience
- as many readers as possible within that target audience
- Engage readers with content.
Companies aim to provide documents that are
- relevant to their target readers
- compelling, informative and well-presented
How are goals and objectives for electronic documents defined?
Every piece of electronic content has its own unique set of objectives. In order to effectively measure how well documents are performing these objectives, content providers must set specific document performance goals. Here are two examples of goals a business might define for a document distribution campaign:
- A research company offers a free report to customers on its email list.
Key goals may include
- Maximizing the number of document opens (relative to email list size)
- Ensuring that the majority of recipients read at least 75% of the document
- A software firm makes a white paper available for download from its website.
Key goals may include
- Maximizing the number of document opens (relative to web traffic)
- Ensuring that at least 80% of readers read at least four pages
How important is measuring document performance?
Once specific document performance goals and objectives have been defined, the need to measure performance becomes critical. There is little point in defining specific goals and objectives unless they are measurable, yet the measurement of electronic document performance has traditionally been difficult if not impossible.
The majority of electronic documents are distributed as PDFs. Standard PDF technology has no features which allow content providers to measure the performance of their documents. Therefore, content providers have little motivation for attempting to improve documents. Why change something if there is no way to tell if a change is effective?
Can document performance be optimized?
Businesses that can measure the performance of documents are able to test the effectiveness of changes made to any style or content elements of these documents. By testing changes in this way, companies can optimize documents and ensure that their electronic content is performing with maximum efficiency and effectiveness
Vitrium Systems has designed docmetrics to fulfill the need for technology that empowers content providers to measure and optimize the performance of their PDF documents. To learn more about the web-based docmetrics system and how it can benefit your business, simply click the link below.
Learn More About Docmetrics
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