Tuesday, March 21, 2006
“Can’t get no (marketing measurement) satisfaction”
byA new survey, Accountable Marketing Through Metrics, reveals that a majority (86%) of marketing-executive respondents are more dissatisfied than ever with their inability to track and measure marketing performance, a figure that is up 9% compared to last year.
Why the increase in dissatisfaction at a time when ROI is such a hot topic? Because processes apparently are not in place to help executives measure the very business and marketing goals they are charged with meeting.
As reported in Business-to-Business Online, the fifth annual marketing metrics survey conducted by Vision Edge Marketing shows a huge gap between what marketing executives consider important and what they can actually track with their existing marketing measurement processes.
For example, nearly half (48%) of respondents who are required to track a metric do not have a process in place to do so.
Specifically, a majority of respondents (71%) said increasing share in existing markets is a priority in 2006, but only 50% of respondents have a process in place to actually track that key metric to achieve that business goal.
Additionally, almost 40% of respondents say that increasing share of business with existing customers is a priority for marketing in 2006, while only 9% actually have a process in place to track that key metric.
It comes as no surprise then, according to the survey discussion, that only 1% of respondents are completely satisfied with their ability to track marketing performance. Reasons cited in the survey press release include under-funding for processes and training, key ingredients to improve the state of marketing metrics.
“Improving marketing performance is more than tracking numbers,” says VisionEdge president Laura Patterson in a survey press release. “It’s about having the right skills, tools and processes. We need a little less talk and a lot more action if we’re serious about improving metrics proficiency and competency in our discipline.”
