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Your Mother Always Told You to be Yourself, Didn’t She?

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

Branding is more than a word that you throw at clients or managers because you are the marketing expert. It’s a real concept that exists in the marketplace. Consumers respond to branding whether they know, or admit, it or not. Your brand is a personality; it is a set of ideas that embodies itself in your products or services. It can and should be traced directly back to a company’s core values.

Advertising campaigns and promotions can help change the image of a brand, but if the company exists and operates by one set of core values and advertises that their brand exists and operates by another, the marketplace will eventually catch on. Once they do, you will have effectively branded the company….as being incompetent or–worse yet–dishonest. Core values should be taken into account when you want to work on branding. Resources are wasted when a company dumps money into a campaign depicting itself as progressive…and then gets cited by the media for making campaign contributions or funding lobbyists with contradictory platforms. There is nothing wrong with being yourself and, let’s face it, your core values are a big part of who you are. This holds true for individual people and for brands.

So start by deciding what your core values actually are. It’s easy to put together a superficial list of positive statements, but if you are wise, you won’t. If you are drawing a blank, look at your business model. How do you intend to do what you do? Do you focus on efficiency, innovation, customer service? Once you have decided how you intend to operate in a way that is both profitable and pleasing to customers, you are well on your way to identifying your core values. And once you have the list, you’re ready to start branding effectively.

Let’s illustrate the point with an example. Zappos is an online clothing retailer that began with selling only shoes. Currently the company is a subsidiary of Amazon and is a profitable and well branded member of Amazon’s online family. Their core values are stated as follows:

  1. Deliver WOW Through Service
  2. Embrace and Drive Change
  3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
  4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
  5. Pursue Growth and Learning
  6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
  7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
  8. Do More With Less
  9. Be Passionate and Determined
  10. Be Humble

As you can see, fun is one of their core values. They brand themselves as fun in quirky ways. If you go their website and scroll to the bottom you find a hyperlink marked “Don’t Ever Click Here.” That link redirects visitors to a Youtube page featuring a puppet music video. That’s right: Zappos values fun enough to redirect potential customers away from their retail page and lead them to a musical (and fun) puppet show. If you want to know what Zappos is all about they have put together a musical number where their employees sing their way through the corporate office.

On top of fun the company says it values humility and “Wowing” customers through service. This core value is substantiated by the awards that they have received including the first ever StellaService award for e-commerce. If the employees did not remain humble, communicate openly and honestly (core value #6) and “wow” customers, the company wouldn’t have earned so many awards, especially not for customer service. Happy customers have perceptions about a company and, like it or not, customer perception drives branding.

If you are interested in finding out more about core values and branding or would like to hear from an actual expert, the founder of Zappos will be speaking in Tampa. The event is set for October 18, 2010 and is being hosted by The American Marketing Association of Tampa Bay as well as Ballywho Interactive.

Sources:

Zappos

Brandology.com

Digidaydaily

Related Posts:

What’s Your Story: Harnessing the Power of Marketing Through Storytelling

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They’re Cooler than You and They Have Money to Spend

Monday, September 20th, 2010

With every new generation comes a new sense of identity, new ideas on what defines cool and, for marketers, new headaches. How do we sell to kids? What do we say to actually get their attention? Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past few years you have probably seen today’s version of cool walking around in skinny jeans and wool caps, going out of their way to ensure that everyone knows that they do not care about mainstream society or its interests.

In general the new counter-culture that most “kids these days” seem to be joining are called hipsters. Just like past generations did, these adolescents and young adults claim to have no bond with traditional society and exist solely on independent thought (and of course their parents’ money). That appearance of apathy makes some people shudder at finding an effective marketing strategy to target this demographic. But it shouldn’t.

In essence this group is just like any other consumer group in society. While they might just now be gaining in numbers in the Tampa Bay area, their “movement” has realistically been around for a solid decade around the country. There is an argument to be made that this trend is nearing its end and a new one will be here soon enough, but in reality it will be here for a few more years, and you want to keep your sales up in between now and what’s next. Don’t underestimate this market; it might be entrenched in upper middle-class kids who love indie rock, but if you look around you can see its influence on neighboring youth markets like hip-hop and even the prep. Considering the staggering number of kids walking around wearing 70’s style mustaches and plastic neon sunglasses, and the fact that their trends cross over, you should consider their interests and use them as a basis for your marketing efforts.

So what do hipster like?

  • Natural Food- Yes this trend is big in general but huge with hipsters. They like organic foods: this means naturally raised meat and locally grown vegetables.
      • If you put together campaigns for restaurants you may be surprised how well mentioning actually natural ingredients works. Highlight local purchases and environmentally-friendly food processes.
      • Try focusing on health conscious offerings as opposed to redressing existing items with newly sourced ingredients.
  • Vintage
    • Clothing- Arguably hipsters choose clothing by mixing every subculture that popped up between, say, greasers in the 50’s and new wave kids in the 80’s. While many do appear to shop at thrift stores, they all do not. American Apparel would not be what it is and skinny jeans would likely be an afterthought without these kids.
    • Neighborhoods- While a hipster might live anywhere you generally see them grouped in older districts. In our area try Seminole Heights and downtown St. Pete. While rent is definitely a factor here, they also seem to be progressing towards non-modern housing for its aesthetics.
      • The vintage trend is strong with hipsters. Design marketing materials with this in mind (just ask someone in the creative department if you are confused. You can probably find some actual hipsters there.)
      • Put together a promotion that is based on something 80’s and fun, but keep it somewhat authentic. You do not want to disrupt their sense of originality.
  • Technology- As much as they love older fashions and houses, when it comes to technology they like the newest available products. They are involved in all forms of social media from blogs to Foursquare. This makes them a useful consumer group in terms of gathering feedback from first adopters. They will buy new tablet PC’s and cell phones then tell you how they feel right away on blogging forums.
      • Listen to their concerns-as you should all of your customers- and you will benefit right away. They will tell you what the problems are and what features they would like to see on future products. Address the concerns in future advertising materials.
  • Themselves- Hipster feel as if they exist separately from society and strive to stick to their own. While this is nothing new with subcultures it lets us know as marketers and communicators that we might need to engage them differently in order to get the point across.
      • Advertise in local publications that are distributed for free, such as Creative Loafing.
      • Look into advertising at or sponsoring live shows. Contact the cozier local venues about opportunities.

These are the basics, but the options for reaching out to kids are limitless. Has your company successfully reached out to kids with an innovative strategy or creative campaign? If you’d like to share your approach, comment below or write us a guest blog! You’ll be featured right here on the AMA blog site. Email guest blogs to Kristin@ballywhointeractive.com

Sources:

Business Week
The Hipster Handbook
Guarvanomics Blog
AdBusters

Related Posts:

Not in Retail; Consumer Habits Still Matter

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Unwavering Individual Contributions, Key to Chapter Success

Monday, September 13th, 2010

By Colleen Chappell, Immediate Past President, AMA Tampa Bay

The chance to serve as chapter president of an international organization is a once in a lifetime opportunity. As president of the American Marketing Association (AMA) of Tampa Bay, I was able to be a part of growing an organization – while growing my own professional skills.

I began my presidency in the throes of unparalleled economic times. Our chapter risked outpacing our structure with consistent year-over-year membership growth, while chapters across the country were losing rather than gaining strength. In many ways, we faced the perfect storm. It was daunting to take on this leadership role while so many risk variables were simultaneously at play. Now, looking back, the challenge proved to make us all stronger.

I am incredibly proud of the milestone successes we achieved this fiscal year. Some highlights include:

· Adding more new members this year than any year in the history of the organization.

· Winning the international membership drive for all other organizations our size.

· Breaking the 400-member mark for the first time in our chapter’s history.

· Closing the year as the 8th best chapter (out of 75) in member retention.

· Setting new attendance records for both a regularly scheduled and a specialty interest event.

· Most importantly, positioning AMA Tampa Bay as the source and resource for marketing professionals in our area.

How did we do it? In a single word – tenacity! Our board and volunteers harnessed an inner passion to succeed that inspired me as a leader. Being a part of an international volunteer professional organization can be as demanding as a full-time job. It takes extraordinarily strong professionals to put in the quantity and quality of time, passion and strategy it takes to move an organization like this forward. Looking back, the unwavering resolve of each individual contributor was the key to our collective success.

Handing over the reins to Tara Hustedde, our 2010-11 fiscal year president, we are poised for even greater success as we continue to hit the “best in class” bar across the U.S. and Canada.

Tara, if I can pass one thing on to you, it would be to never lose sight of that individual member as we continue to grow. AMA is far more than a professional network; it’s a critical asset to marketing professionals who want to move their careers forward. Best of luck to you and your new leadership team as you take this chapter “Above and Beyond.”

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Save Your Silver Bullets for Slaying Werewolves: Marketing And Marketing Research Require An Arsenal Of Understanding

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

By Jay L. Roth, President, J. L. Roth & Associates, www.jlrothassoc.com

Magic bullets only exist in fairy tales and fantasies. Marketing success requires understanding consumer needs (be they the needs of a business or an individual) and magic bullets remain un-forged.

True understanding comes from listening to and observing people and using empathy and insight to provide them with products, services and experiences that fulfill their needs. Marketing research came into being to help companies gain this understanding, especially as companies grew and became less directly involved with their customers. As eye contact and handshakes became less common, ways were needed to know the markets’ needs.

In recent years a number of “experts” have claimed to have found magic bullets, which provide “THE” path to marketing success or at least are superior to all other paths. These include people, who promote “Net Promoter” as the single question to tell companies what to do to succeed, those who have said its time to be less dependent on information and more frequently use our intuition a la “Blink,” those that say focus groups are dead and promote the ZMET Research Process, those that say online research is the only way to cost effectively conduct marketing research and those that promote “Black Box” models.

My response simply stated – No magic single measure exists and research has proven faults with all of these perspectives. Life isn’t that simple. We must beware of false prophets and any tool a consultant sells, but can’t clearly explain so you understand it. Different research tools (AKA research methods) are needed based on the audiences you are looking to understand and what you are trying to learn.

What is needed is to start at the beginning – a philosophy and the issues needing to be addressed.

If you believe marketing is a business philosophy based on developing products and services that fulfill a consumer’s needs and says it is easier to sell someone something they want/need, then it should be crystal clear we must understand people’s needs so we can satisfy them – make them happy. A corollary to this core principal is businesses are made up of people and therefore everything we say about understanding and fulfilling people’s needs applies to businesses (albeit complicated by the needs of the different people making decisions in the business.) If you disagree with these premises, stop reading now.

When invited to write this guest blog for the AMA, a number of related questions were posed to me:

1. What component/factor do most people overlook when they conduct market research?

2. What mistakes do people make in interpreting/applying their findings?

3. Will online marketing research ever completely replace offline research?

4. How does marketing research influence/correspond to marketing metrics?

The answers to questions 1-3 can be summed up by the following statement — Successful marketing research and marketing require we clearly define the business issues and the key gaps in information which exist. This means we need to understand:

· Our company’s or client’s business and the business issues the company is addressing.

· Who the target audience is – who are you trying to satisfy and make happy. Remember:

About 30% of the population isn’t online – until everyone is online or unless all of your target audience is online, you’ll need alternative ways of collecting information.

About 25% have no land telephone line – if you only call landlines you’ll under represent younger and more mobile people.

· What motivates the company’s/client’s customers to do business with them?

· The competitive frame of reference and how your brand/company fits into the frame of reference.

· The current marketing mix – product, price, promotion and place (and yes the internet is a place)

The biggest mistakes people make, when requesting, conducting and interpreting marketing research, are related to how they define their business issues. Too often people go down the wrong path or get answers to the wrong questions because they haven’t properly defined their business issue. If one defines the business issue incorrectly, the wrong people are asked the wrong questions and the wrong behaviors get observed/measured. The result equals failure to get the guidance needed. Clearly defining the business issues is critical to getting the information needed and assuring the information gained is useful/actionable.

In terms of the question, “How does marketing research influence/correspond to marketing metrics?”

The answer is: The best marketing metrics are those which assure your customers’ needs are fulfilled by your company while also meeting the company’s financial goals. If your marketing research has been conducted so you truly understand your consumers’ needs and you’ve established processes to meet these needs, your metrics should be closely tied to the research. If not, something is awry.

While silver bullets may remain great for killing fictional werewolves, a knowledgeable marketing researcher with a sound grounding in marketing theory and practice owns an arsenal of tools to provide the guidance you need to succeed. Let them help you slay your marketing beasties and fulfill people’s needs so your company lives happily ever after.

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What’s Your Story? Harness the Power of Marketing through Storytelling

Monday, August 9th, 2010

As marketers, we often focus on the “next big thing,” straying from the perennial principles of effective marketing to pursue the latest fads or rehash metrics. Yet virtually every new marketing strategy or platform is simply one more way to do the same thing: share a captivating story. As we increasingly seek authenticity and clarity in a cluttered world, the ability to share a story will become more important than ever.

Forget the Tall Tales

How many opportunities to you and your colleagues have each day, to talk one-on-one with current clients or prospects? And how do you use these interactions? The best approach may be to tell a story. Made to Stick authors Chip Heath and Dan Heath identify six principles for “sticky ideas”:

  • Stories
  • Simplicity
  • Unexpectedness
  • Concreteness
  • Credibility
  • Emotions

Note that the first element, stories, should really incorporate the other six in order to be effective. We crave stories that surprise us; are easy to understand; and contain believable events and characters. But marketing is no place for fairy tales or hyperbole. Over-the-top stories, à la Paul Bunyan, may be great for putting the kids to bed, but they can detract from a company’s aura of legitimacy.

Crafting Your Company Stories

Take a moment to consider your company’s history, values, and customers. Undoubtedly there are several good stories just waiting to be discovered. But just as important is the story itself is how that story is packaged and presented.

  • Strive for authenticity: Capture the character and voice of your company. Don’t tell a story that your competitor can also tell, but rather a story that illustrates your point of difference. Think about those moments where your company has truly sparkled.
  • Keep it relevant: Identify your market segment (or segments) and craft a story that appeals to each. It may be necessary to come up with a sort of “story arsenal” that includes stories for a variety of situations and clients.
  • Make it retell-able: Simplicity is key. Anyone–from the company CEO to your customer’s kindergartener–should be able to recall your story and repeat it to someone else. Why not create an opportunity for free word-of-mouth advertising?
  • Skip the predictable: If your company is already well known for working in a particular vertical, or for working with a high-profile client, go for a different angle. Explore other successes that could become great stories.

We’d love to hear your company’s story! Share it here, or on our Facebook page.

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New AMA Tampa Bay President – My Look Ahead

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

For those of you who missed it, on June 22, Colleen Chappell, the AMA Tampa Bay President and President of ChappellRoberts, passed the gavel of leadership to me.

After a year of serving with Colleen as President-Elect and several years working with the organization in other capacities, I am excited to now be President of AMA Tampa Bay, which has more than 400 members and is one of the fastest growing chapters in the United States.

I’d like to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for your ongoing support as we move into the new fiscal year. Many of you have asked me, “Do you know what you’re getting into?”

You know, it’s funny, but I totally do.

Challenges and successes

During my term as President-Elect, I had the opportunity to work with, troubleshoot, problem solve, and have a heck of a lot of fun (and wine) with one of the most dynamic and well-respected leaders in Tampa Bay — Colleen Chappell. While I learned a lot about the details, deliverables and some of the downright difficult aspects of running our chapter, the most important things I gained from her are life skills that will continue to help me not only as a professional, but also as a wife, mother and friend.

Colleen and I have shared a year full of life-changing experiences, both personal and professional. I had a baby, and she prepared her “baby” to fly away from the nest. We had moving nightmares, and business successes. Working with Colleen and AMA Tampa Bay has become an incredibly personal experience.

Without Colleen’s continued support and guidance, I would not be ready to take on this role. Knowing that she will still be here not only as Immediate Past President but as a confidante, sounding board and friend, means that this will be a year that will be full of surprises and laughter (and yes, even more wine).

Thanks, Colleen, for everything.

“Above and Beyond”

Under Colleen’s leadership, the Board of Directors shared her vision to “Keep on Growing,” and you know what, it worked! At a time when other professional organizations have found it incredibly difficult to stay afloat, AMA Tampa Bay’s membership has increased steadily. This proves just how important we are to the marketing community.

Our growth is in no small part due to our dedicated volunteers, committee members, sponsors and Board of Directors. Everyone’s worked diligently to spearhead new and exciting opportunities that have proven to be incredibly successful. With this strong foundation beneath me, I look forward to working with all of you to take our chapter “Above and Beyond.”

Now that we’ve achieved substantial growth, I am committed to a focused approach that will help us to find new ways to engage, serve and connect with our membership on an even more personal level.

This brings me to our chapter’s new President-Elect, Sean Halter.

Interesting times ahead

Sean is dedicated, passionate and funny. He has served on our Board of Directors for quite some time now, and he’s more than prepared for his new role as President-Elect. He has proven himself as a resourceful and talented leader, and I am eagerly awaiting the fresh perspective and new ideas he will surely contribute.

I don’t know if anyone can truly prepare to work with me on an almost daily basis (haha), though I made a big effort to provide Sean with the tools and resources that will help him through this year.

So my husband, Chad, gave him a book full of insults and comebacks. (Sean should enjoying using that in the coming year, I am sure.)

Together we’re better

In closing, I want to again thank everyone who has helped me on my path to chapter leadership. I am positive that this year will once again be stellar, and we will continue to serve the marketing community unlike any other professional group in Tampa Bay.

We have a truly talented Board of Directors this year, and I would like to take a moment to recognize our incoming 2010-2011 Board at this time.

Sean Halter, President-Elect
Colleen Chappell, Immediate Past President
Thryth Hillary-Navarro, Secretary
Greg Millman, Treasurer
Susan Follick, VP Communications & Branding
Vince Bailey, VP Research
Shanna Kurpe, VP of Programming, Co-chair
Jeff Young, VP of Programming, Co-chair
Will Rose, VP Sponsorship
Doug Engel, VP Collegiate Relations
Jeremy Dixon, VP Human Resources
Jennie M. Jordan, VP Volunteers
Tracy Beck Clouser, Director of Public & Media Relations
Jennifer McCafferty, Director of Programming Development
Andrea Gorder, Director of Event Management
Shelly Bramm, Director of Membership Retention

Thanks to all of you for agreeing to take this journey with me.

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A Quick Q & A with Dana Williams

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

Dana Williams, Director of Marketing and Communications for Southwest Airlines, shared her insights with us this past Friday. Williams explained the strategy behind Southwest’s “Bags Fly Free” campaign and shared the company’s innovative approach to marketing in the 21st century. We caught up with Dana after the presentation to get more of her thoughts.

Q: What’s your personal marketing philosophy?001489-AMA_7_22_010

A: Know your Customer and build value for your Customer.

Q:  How has that influenced Southwest’s marketing?

A: We are in the Customer service business, we just happen to fly planes!  Our mission statement is about Customer Service and says nothing about flying people from point A to point B. I attached mission statement below.

Q: Why do you think Southwest’s brand resonates so well with people?

A: We have great value and we give our people the freedom to have fun and be themselves. Our people are our brand essence at Southwest Airlines, so everything centers on delivering great Customer Service through our people.

Q: How have Southwest’s marketing objectives and approach evolved in recent years? What precipitated those changes?

A: We have gone from brand awareness to strategically creating brand preference.  Competition with other airlines was the driving force behind that shift.

Q: What’s the greatest challenge in building a successful marketing campaign? How do you overcome that challenge?

A: Getting everyone on the same page and then keeping the message consistent in all channels. We developed Star teams for integrating all communication.

Q: Southwest takes a different approach to advertising than other airlines, namely humor.  Why did you go for this approach?

A: We take our business seriously but not ourselves.

Q: Do you target business travelers through social media? If so, how?

A: Yes, we use targeted media buys.

Q: What has been Southwest’s most unique and successful strategy for increasing its online following? It’s a mixture of several things, not just one thing.  We focus on bringing folks to our site only instead of selling our seats on aggregators.  With this philosophy, we are able to provide excellent Customer service and a great value for our Customers.  We also developed some new tools like "Click and Save," creating a way for our Customers to sign up for the latest sales. 

Q: How has Southwest’s social media program helped the company leverage customer loyalty?

A: Our customers carry our message as much as our marketing campaign, so it is very important to provide our Customer fans with as much information as we can as quickly as we can through our various social channels (Twitter; YouTube; Flickr; Facebook; and our blog, Nuts about Southwest).

Check out Southwest Airlines online, and be sure to check back soon for more information about AMA Tampa Bay’s upcoming events!

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Building a Reputation as a Thought Leader: Get Your Name in Print!

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Establishing oneself as an industry thought leader makes marketing and sales a much easier task. For marketing executives, especially those who specialize in marketing for a specific vertical, gaining a following as a though leader can significantly improve one’s ability to reach target prospects. Although the process of asserting oneself as a true leader can seem a daunting task, it can be accomplished with a dual-pronged approach. The first step is to get published, and the second is to gain a following as a speaker or presenter. Today we’ll focus on the first step, getting published.

Four Steps to Seeing Your Name in Print

Contrary to popular opinion, getting published is hardly impossible. Many editors of trade magazines and other industry-specific publications truly appreciate story ideas and articles from professionals who are “in the trenches.” The key: ensure that articles fit within your overall marketing strategy.

1. Choose topics that fit with your business goals. Which products and services do you want to emphasize? Which area of expertise is most important to establish? Come up with interesting angles on these services, and select articles that will solve problems your clients may have.

2. Identify key publications for target prospects. The next time you call on a client or prospect, take note of the magazines in their waiting area. Some business owners even ask clients what magazines and journals they subscribe to. You’ll want to choose industry-related publications that key decision makers read. Contact editors at those publications to pitch your story ideas.

3. Be ambitious. Go beyond local publications. Although the city’s business journal is a great source for local business, expand your reach to include regional and national publications. The best approach includes publishing at multiple levels, from the company’s blog to national trade magazines.

4. Edit, edit, edit. Even the most desperate editor will be happier to get a clean draft. Ask a trusted colleague to look over your draft and make revisions—not only to grammar and punctuation, but also to style and tone. Articles should reflect the overall message and tone of other corporate materials, such as the website and sales kit.

Benefits of Publishing as a Marketing Tool

So now you have the clips…but what to do with them? Make them part of your sales machine, naturally! Perhaps the greatest benefit of publishing is that it provides relevant, authentic marketing collateral. Clips can complement the sales kit or speaker kit. Some executives even include a link to their latest article in their email signatures.

Ultimately consistent publication builds credibility and opens the door for speaking engagements. Savvy marketing executives can take advantage of these opportunities not only for themselves, but also for key members of their organizations. The pay-off: increased visibility, which generally also increases sales.

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Marketing Metrics: How to Make Them Matter (Part Two)

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

The task of building reliable and meaningful marketing metrics presents a significant challenge. David W. Stewart, professor at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, offers a timely perspective on how to make marketing metrics relevant. Last week we looked at his first six guidelines for metrics. This week, we’ll address the last six.

1. Measures of effort cannot be confused with measures of efficacy: Often marketing departments look to number of phone calls, frequency of contact and other numbers to measure their progress. Although these numbers should help inform decision making, they shouldn’t stand alone as indicators of marketing success or failure. There must be some indication of outcome, either directly or indirectly tied to financial performance.

2. Metrics must cross geographic and political boundaries: As more companies enter the global economy and manage an increasingly diverse portfolio of products and services, metrics must be adapted to be more universally meaningful. All stakeholders, from CEO’s to shareholders, should be able to understand the application of marketing metrics and use them to compare performance across industries or demographics.

3. The purpose, form, and scope of metrics should be transparent: Companies use an arsenal of tools to measure their financial performance. Although the tools may vary by industry, the meaning and application of each tool is clear to all parties. Necessary marketing metrics may also vary, but it is important that they clearly serve the stated purpose, be consistently applied and have specifically delineated applications and limitations.

4. Marketing departments must thoroughly document details: Any knowledgeable user should be able to examine a firm’s metrics and understand three things: precisely what is being measured; how the metric works; and how the data can be compared to comparable information from other companies. The last component tends to be overlooked, as marketing departments concentrate on specific internal measures of success.

5. Like any other measure, marketing metrics are subject to standards of development and validation: Just as scientists must follow certain procedures and validate their data by using standard methodology, marketing professionals must adhere to rigorous guidelines for measurement. Following industry standards for best practices lends validity to marketing metrics. This standard probably represents the most challenging one for the marketing community, since no consensus yet exists for effective measurement techniques in each marketing platform.

6. Marketing metrics must be viewed as an investment: Ultimately marketing metrics should serve as a tool to support sound decision making, improve accountability and reinforce continuous improvement efforts. Thoughtfully, thoroughly applied metrics give marketing professionals the evidence they need to create and fulfill goals—both short- and long-term.

Dr. Stewart’s academic approach to marketing certainly gives marketing professionals high benchmarks for implementing effective metrics. Yet the community tends to lose sight of the vast applications of accurate measurement. How have you put metrics to work in your marketing firm or department?

David W. Stewart is a professor at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California and current editor of the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. Dr. Stewart is also past editor of the Journal of Marketing.

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Marketing Metrics: How to Make Them Matter (Part One)

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Marketing has always been a difficult area to measure, yet remains undeniably indispensible to virtually every business.  As more tools become available, many marketing professionals find themselves surrounded by data.  Yet there are currently no real standards for determining which data are actually important; indeed many refer to marketing as the “dark science” because it is so difficult to quantify accurately. 

 After all, it’s not that marketing professionals disagree on which units of measurement to use (eg, yards v meters), but rather that they have not reached a consensus on what to measure in the first place.  Certainly the profession pays close attention to trends in metrics, but standardization has yet to emerge.  In the meantime, companies come up with proprietary tools and claim to offer definitive metrics.  In the short term, these companies may enjoy a competitive advantage.  But they’re actually short-selling the industry in a way that could ultimately undermine the credibility of marketing as a profession. 

 David W. Stewart, Robert E. Brooker Professor of Marketing and Chair of the Marketing Department in the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, suggests twelve ways that marketing can adopt and standardize its metrics. This week we’ll examine the first six.

 1.   Metrics must first be financial: The most comprehensible measurement across all segments of a company is return on investment (ROI).  This measure puts marketing in the context of clear economic gains that everyone can understand. Furthermore, this is the only information that is useful to managers as they plan and execute budgets.

2.   Marketing accountability must be measured the same as in other departments: Factors such as risk, capital investment, return, and the time value of money are crucial for determining budget and strategy.  Before a marketing team can pitch a new or risky marketing strategy, the team must place it in the context of these factors.

3.   Any measure of marketing activities should both impact future decisions and provide retrospective proof of its efficacy: In other words, marketing activities should demonstrate inherent value and become part of a company’s comprehensive business plan.  The metrics should also help companies to decide between different marketing activities, based on specific goals and budget.

4.   Effective measurement cannot be short- or long-term only: Every marketing effort has both immediate and long-lasting effects.  The best metrics systems take both of these into account—and acknowledge that the two may not be congruous with one another. 

5.   Metrics must illustrate the difference between marginal return on investment and total return on investment: Eventually any marketing strategy will fall prey to the law of diminishing returns.  This is especially true in today’s climate, where the array of marketing tools seems to increase exponentially.  Marketing metrics must track the incremental return, so that strategies and campaigns can be abandoned when they are no longer effective.

6.   Marketing metrics should account for the fact that different products produce different rates of return: Many variables impact the potential return on investment, including size, profit margin and rate of growth.  Marketing metrics must take this into account.  This component is especially important when marketers must promote a variety of products or services. 

So what metrics work using Stewart’s model?  How have you implemented metrics effectively in your marketing practice?

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