• 4 Essential Tips for Building Quantifiable Marketing Programs

    Often regarded as a soft science, it can be difficult to measure the ROI of marketing programs. There are many reasons for this, but five of the biggest we've seen are:

    • Programs are often put in place without measurement vehicles.
    • The company is doing "reactive" marketing without a strategic roadmap.
    • The focus is on measuring individual programs, but not on the big picture marketing campaign.
    • Sales is pressuring to institute quick programs to achieve quarter goals.
    • Disconnect in C-level support for proactive, coordinated strategic marketing.

    It will be easy to get senior management to buy into the idea of ROI-driven marketing. But getting their support to help you reach this milestone may be much more of a hurdle.

    Q2 Marketing has found that a lot of tech marketers have put benchmarks in place and are providing quantification for some of their programs. But they are looking for ideas to improve their measurement strategies and to better justify their programs and campaigns. Here are essential tips that should form the basis of the initial stages of your quantifiable marketing strategy.

    1. Measure something.
      Start somewhere. If quantifying marketing programs is still outside your comfort zone, you aren't alone. The initial results projection for some programs will be an inexact science. Estimate where you must. Do your best to isolate factors and ensure measurement strategies are in place. Use past benchmarks when they are available and best practices industry standards to project your results. The more quantification you do, the easier it will be to make this part of your process.
    2. Get Buy In.
      Marketing is typically siloed and separated from the rest of the organization. It tends to be a service-oriented function, operating as a delivery mechanism for sales or other departments. In too many environments, marketing is not given full accountability—or freedom—to impact the organization. The focus tends to be on measuring "intangibles," and there is no formal measurement process in place.

      As a result of all this, marketers too often aren't viewed as strategic players. It's been our observation that many tech firms don't have a marketing voice on their management team. Sure, they may have a C-level person with a strong sales and marketing background, but not a person and team dedicated to the absolute day-to-day and big picture success of their marketing programs.

      It will be easy to get senior management to buy into the idea of ROI-driven marketing. But getting their support to help you reach this milestone may be much more of a hurdle. On the other hand, you may have the support of senior management. Better yet, you may be senior management. Perfect. But if you're not, you'll have to fight for your place at the table. Do what it takes to champion your programs and make them a success. You'll have to take charge of establishing measurement methods and ensure that they are followed throughout the organization, and throughout the prospect lifecycle.
    3. Establish formal measurement process.
      Before a program is launched, you must have a measurement process in place to track the movement of prospects through the sales funnel. Of course, some programs are easier to measure than others. Some business, such as those focused on selling to the government, have a long sales cycle. Regardless of these challenges, put measurement processes in place, and translate the results to quantifiable ROI.

      From the time the prospect enters your sales funnel, have a system in place to track their progression. Studying the information captured in your CRM solution will yield a wealth of information you need to launch, maintain and improve your marketing programs. If the data is inconsistent or lacks detail, offer training for improvement.
    4. Communicate.
      Keys to securing buy in are demonstrating success and communicating progress. For every program, establish and communicate metrics and goals with your management team. Ensure agreement early on and before you deploy. At each step, communicate progress to senior management and staff. At the end of each program, communicate all metrics and how your programs impacted attainment of your organization's objectives.

      Every person within your organization involved in the process must follow it. This may require training in how to capture date in your CRM system. If you fail to standardize across your company, the numbers you'll yield will not be accurate representations.

    Follow these steps and you'll be on your way to establishing a solid foundation for quantifiable marketing.

Client Highlights

Got questions about implementing quantification across your programs? Experiencing challenges establishing measurement processes or getting management buy in? Send your questions to Pamela Girardin, President at Qspot@Q2marketing.com.

 

Client Highlights

Q2 Marketing is a strategic marketing communications agency for the Washington DC region’s B2B and B2G technology market. We’re an indispensable resource for the companies that trust us. Q2 drives revenue for our clients and ensures they spend their marketing dollars in the best ways. Motivated by quantified results, we establish measurable metrics based on best practices.

www.Q2marketing.com
703-273-2990.
sales@Q2marketing.com

Q2 can help you:

  • create ROI-driven marketing strategies
  • Deploy programs that drive your bottom line
  • Establish a formal marketing measurement process