Dave, thanks for starting this discussion - great answers from everyone and there seems to be agreement. I'm a bit obsessed with this at the moment - a few thoughts:
- Should there be a better/more meaningful way to define "response rate"?
I think modern marketers need to keep pushing the boundaries. Going beyond the click to understand exactly how someone engaged with your content is what I think is needed to understand how they really "responded". How much time did they spend watching your video? Yes, they clicked and downloaded the Whitepaper but how much did they actually read? Was it shared and amplified within the company? Was third party content included and did that have an effect on engagement? Did they find your email useful? How do you know if they did or not? Had they seen the content before and would they prefer if you sent them something else instead? I think we need to start asking these questions.
Definitely agree conversion is the ultimate goal. Form completions don't lie. But opens and clicks can sometimes mislead. Would love to hear more feedback on this topic.