How to Become a Measurable Marketer

How does a traditional marketer become a measurable marketer?

While most organizations, B-to-B, B-to-C or nonprofit, exclaim “marketing accountability is a top priority,” most don’t have the necessary metrics in place to quantify their efforts.

Marketers today wear many hats and are responsible for promoting their organizations via several ever-evolving media, from billboard and brand advertising to trade shows and Webcast events. The sheer volume of a marketer’s workload, combined with tighter budget constraints and generally shrinking marketing departments, makes “accountability” a seemingly impossible feat.

Add to this list of obstacles the fact that consumers and professionals alike are bombarded with thousands of media messages every day. Consumers today encounter from 3,500 to 5,000 marketing messages daily, vs. 500 to 2,000 in the 1970s, says J. Walker Smith, president of consumer and marketing watcher Yankelovich Inc.

This overwhelming volume of marketing messages is forcing consumers to tune out in a figurative and literal sense. Figuratively, consumers begin treating unwanted media communications as white noise—just a whirring sound in the background of life. Literally, people are adopting new technologies to help select what, when and how they hear and see the messages that interest them. For example, digital video recorders make it possible to watch TV shows—minus commercials—at the consumers’ convenience, and iPod’s playlist capabilities produce personalized music selections without advertising interruptions.

Put It in Writing

Among the challenges marketers face to make accountability a reality is that their organization—for any number of reasons—doesn’t have a comprehensive marketing plan. Without this, and companywide agreement of its contents—including objectives, target markets, strategies, key messages and tracking/measuring tactics—gathering and analyzing results and ROI is put on the back burner.

A marketing plan should focus not only on analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, but on achieving an increase in marketing and sales accountability, outlining realistic objectives, innovative strategies and responsible measurement. Until recently, defining the tactics with which a campaign would be measured was not a common component of a marketing plan.

Today’s marketing plans must contain testing, return-on-investment scenarios and an outline of how each and every campaign is going to be measured. It must address relevancy and segments.

2. Make It a Career Choice

Measuring marketing performance is considered a strong leadership trait for an accomplished marketing professional. Each effort you make to enable your current employer to account for every dollar spent on marketing is going to make you a better, more sought-after marketer.

Whether you employ manual processes to take control of your metrics, or use a marketing measurement system, make it a career choice to rationalize your marketing planning and maximize business results.

Direct marketers have always understood the importance of measurability, testing and relevancy. This accountability puts DMers at the forefront of marketing communications…exactly where we deserve to be.

Proctor & Gamble, for instance, is placing “hard emphasis on improving our return on investment,” reports USA Today in a 2005 interview with P&G spokesman Dave McCracken. “We’re just getting smart in how we are using TV as part of our overall marketing mix.”

In rethinking its media strategy, P&G—after spending 80% of its $3 billion 2004 ad budget on TV—is considering alternative media options. And this advertising powerhouse is not alone.

Last year’s Cannes TV ad competition shared the limelight with seven other marketing categories, including direct marketing, outdoor and Internet ads. Cannes reported that entries in the non-TV sectors increased by double digits. The fastest growing segment was direct marketing, with a 33.5% spike. TV entries were down 2%.

Alternative media strategies bring to mind the advent of “direct branding”—a result of marketers wanting to continue traditional brand advertising but needing to measure the results of their media investments.

Direct branding combines the art of brand advertising and the immediacy of direct marketing. The divide between traditional advertising and DM is more prevalent today than ever. Where traditional advertising generates eventual sales by promoting a brand image, direct marketing takes a straightforward route by asking for the sale now.

The direct branding approach helps businesses combat these marketing challenges:

*Reducing information overload for prospects and customers.

*Creating accountable advertising with smaller budgets.

*Meeting consumer demand for relevancy.

*Utilizing emerging technology to personalize communications.

Business-to-business companies such as mobile command unit maker LDV Inc. in Burlington, WI, are dramatically increasing qualified sales leads—and consistently reporting on results—by converting traditional space advertising campaigns to direct branding ads.

In a recent ad campaign targeting law enforcement agencies, the right offer, combined with multichannel marketing strategies and an easy-to-use response mechanism, boosted LDV’s sales leads sixfold.

The bottom line with direct branding, then, is that marketers can work harder than ever to enhance their brand as they simultaneously drive sales. Today, this is a necessity—and a prerequisite for doing business.

Grant A. Johnson is CEO of Johnson Direct in Brookfield, WI.