The Marketing Bureau

....Run With the Big Dogs, or Stay on the Porch
By Traci Gere
First Published on www.marketingprofs.com
Marketers get it. To generate support for plans and gain access to needed resources, marketers need to be able to show and prove the connection between spending and desired strategic and financial outcomes. 

Embracing the words "measurement" and "return on investment" (ROI) is a good start, along with nabbing the low-hanging fruit of measuring marketing and starting to determine how those metrics relate to desired organizational outcomes, such as sales and profitability.

Now, for the bigger picture. Marketers need to establish and institutionalize the processes for drawing and communicating Marketing's impact, consistently and repeatedly, in ways that make sense to other parts of the organization, and in even those areas considered hard to measure.

That means running with the "big dogs" in Finance, Sales, and the chief executive's seat, and speaking their language and framing decisions in their terminology, which can be daunting.

Many marketers cite the lack of tools and skill set for measuring marketing as the biggest obstacle they face. For those in small and midsize organizations, the resources and expertise for creating those processes and technologies might not be available. For those in larger organizations, getting on the agenda of central research and technology departments can take time.

If you'd like to lead the pack but need to sharpen your alpha-dog skills, here are three important steps that can help you get started.

1. Plan to lead the conversation

Only when you help to set the terms and conditions of measurement can you be confident that you can deliver results.

Recently, a large consumer-goods company sought to measure a live marketing program solely using during-program sales data. However, the program's desired ROI did not become realistic or achievable until the idea of also tracking after-program sales from consumers who had had a live experience with the product was introduced, along with a strategy for measuring that impact.

As you prepare to venture into new measurement territory, think through all the marketing impacts that may be important to strategic outcomes—and then determine how you can use the time you have to test your theories.

2. Negotiate from a position of strength

In any negotiation, strength comes from having the knowledge you need to achieve the results you seek. Gathering relevant data for a meaningful time period gives marketers the information they need to begin predicting future outcomes with some confidence.

The marketing team of a consumer-goods company that had invested in measuring consumer response to shopper marketing events has been able to confidently provide expected ranges to brand teams during planning sessions.

As you prepare to engage other parts of your organization, having key data and knowledge helps you steer the conversation and argue against less-informed positions.

Getting the data you need to support your case is a crucial part of this step. If you lack access to key data, figure out how to get it. If the data needs to be gathered, gather it. Only then can you negotiate from a position of strength.

3. Create and implement a change-management plan

Often, the biggest challenge that marketers face is changing the culture and attitudes toward measuring marketing. Once you've identified key influencers of that culture, seeding them with information that will bring them on as allies helps ignite momentum for change.

For example, new data can spur senior brand management into considering fresh marketing options for a brand with a long-established strategy. It typically takes data and analysis to make the case for a new option, but once the recognized leader starts heading in a new direction, others feel confident enough to follow.

Who are the leaders and influencers who are most important to your goals? How do they like to receive information? How can a new approach to marketing measurement help them meet their goals and objectives? And how can you get them the information they need to spur the changes you seek? Finding the answers to those questions can ensure that the information and knowledge you're creating will be used to get the change you want.

The three steps described in this article can get you started on the right foot in engaging other parts of your organization in achieving your measurement goals and building the knowledge you need to influence them.

With many organizations rethinking their approach to marketing, now is a fine time to influence the right people with the right information to make them part of your pack.

Start to take your rightful place by determining where you want to go, what information you need to get there, and who can help once they know what you know. And if you're already running with the big dogs, revisiting the three steps regularly can help you to correct course and continually improve your approach to marketing measurement.

Traci Gere is the managing director of ExpM (www.expmresults.com), where she leads a team of market researchers in measuring marketing impact, assessing ROI, and fueling innovation for leading companies.