How this for return on investment? Direct marketers plan to spend an average of $250,000 on database upgrades this year, and four out of five expect the expenditures to pay for themselves, according to Direct magazine’s 2006 database practices survey. Some 43% feel they will pay for themselves within six months to a year, while another 37% think it will take between one and two years. Only 7% see it requiring more than two years, and 13% anticipate earning back their investments about six months after the upgrade. And why are they investing? Nearly two-thirds expect direct marketing revenue to rise during the remainder of 2006. And that includes all types of firms. Direct surveyed 216 executives. They work for firms with average annual revenue of $119 million.

You’re now reading a newsletter called MarketingROI. Maybe we should call it MarketingROO. For that’s a metric being urged on publishing pros by the Magazine Publishers of America. What is ROO? It’s return on objective. It tracks goals like changes in consumer attitudes, (as measured in awareness, message association, brand favorability and purchase intent). Another key objective is changes in consumer behavior (as documented by metrics like sales, coupon redemption rates, Web site visits, Web advertising clickthroughs, phone responses, amount of store traffic, recommendations to others and saving ads for future reference). One way to measure ROO is through surveys. Affinity’s VISTA Print Effectiveness Tracking Service shows that 50% of all magazine readers took or plan to take an action as a result of exposure to specific ads. But it has its limitations. For one thing, as MPA points out in a paper on accountability, “surveys often rely on consumer intentions—not on actual actions.” And results vary over time, so that the marketer should “track attitude and behavior shifts across several behavior shifts across several time periods to understand changes in what is being measured versus assessing only a single point in time.”

Further ROI Reading:

• Database Marketing and ROI
• Essential Metrics for B-to-B Direct Marketing
• Is Marketing ROI Dead?

more ROI articles

Executive coaching yields ROI nearly six times its cost, according to a new study from consultancy N2growth. Upper-level executives who received such guidance estimated its value at around $100,000, or nearly six times the expense. Most of the returns came in the form of productivity (cited by 53% of those surveyed); work quality (48%); organization strength (48%); customer service (39%); reduced customer complaints (34%); retention rates among those receive coaching (32%); cost reductions (23%); and bottom-line profitability (22%). The study was conducted among 100 executives, primarily from Fortune 1000 companies. Most held positions of vice president or higher.

Brian J. Carroll has released “Lead Generation for the Complex Sale,” a book on multi-step sales processes in the business-to-business arena. The book offers Carroll’s insights into boosting the quality and quantity of leads to increase ROI; identifying and prioritizing the best prospects; increasing the percentage of leads that become best customers; aligning sales and marketing efforts to optimize the number of leads; and managing a large group of leads without being overwhelmed. Carroll is CEO and founder of InTouch Inc., a lead generation firm that specializes in complex sales prospects.

Infopia has launched Infopia Analytics, a service designed to give merchants better visibility into their online business and determine the lifetime value of their customers. According to the company, Infopia Analytics provides a dashboard that tracks overall company performance for products, listings, revenue, marketplaces, promotions and other areas.

What’s the biggest hit to your customer service ROI? No surprise: It’s personnel costs, according to a new survey. For firms lacking systems to help them manage their service centers, staff takes up 64% of their expense budgets compared with 47% for companies that do host such “solutions” or systems. On the other hand, firms with systems spend a higher percentage of their budgets on phone support (25%) and e-mail support (19%) than firms without them. The latter spend 20% of their budgets on phone support and 16% on e-mail support. And, of course, the personnel expenses rise with the size of the customer service operation. Online self-support systems enable companies to reduce the number of support tickets they write. According to the study, computer graphics firm ATI Technologies Inc. installed an online customer support portal, and as a result currently writes only 27,000 tickets a month, measured against more than 1 million visitors to its site. These findings are the result of research conducted by Parature Inc., a McLean, VA firm that markets such solutions.

Want to measure and maximize your marketing and advertising dollars? Chicago-area readers can attend a seminar on the subject on June 15. Two sessions will be offered: 12:30-2:30 p.m. and 4:30-6:30 p.m. Sponsored by Accountability Information Management Inc., the sessions will take place at 553 N. Court, Suite 120, in Palatine, IL. For more information, call 847-358-8558.

Marketers wondering whether their Web site search engine optimization costs are paying off have a tool at their disposal to evaluate its ROI. Elliance, an eMarketing tools and strategy firm based in Pittsburgh, offers a nifty—if basic—online calculator. Marketers can take advantage of it in two ways: Either by using the calculator itself within the Web page or by treating the cost-and-revenue factors it asks for as fuel for their own calculations. The Web page is (http://searchengineoptimization.elliance.com/ROI.asp).

Want an update on what’s new in ROI? Plan to attend the Metrics-Driven Marketing Performance Workshop in Austin, TX on May 11-12. Sponsored by the Marketing Metrics Council, the session will take place at the Stephen F. Austin/Intercontinental Hotel in Austin. For more information, call 1-800-363-6566.

Procter & Gamble has taken delivery of a new data system that will manage marketing campaigns within North America for more than 60 brands. The system will provide the backbone for both e-mail and print campaigns, although its primary purpose will be to track and analyze Web-based efforts, according to Lance Williams, vice presidents of the solution consulting group from Merkle, the database marketing firm that designed the system. “We expect to be able to better evaluate the success of our direct marketing programs through the use of quantitative facts,” adds Willie Alvarado, Procter & Gamble’s director of global business services.

The Chief Marketing Officer Council has launched Mastering MPM, a program geared toward training executives in marketing performance measurement. The program will offer two tracks. The first, which is designed for individual marketers, incorporates online participation and independent study supervised by MPM faculty. The second track enables companies to train between three and six employees in measurement practices, and includes online tutoring, independent studying, and completion of a company project. Both tracks will be offered in the spring and fall quarters, and those successfully completing either track will be awarded an “MPM Specialist” certificate. Additional information is available at http://www.mpmforum.org.