by Skip Lineberg
The State Journal
May 8, 2008
So you'd like your marketing to be more accountable? Good for you, I say. Bravo! I am a marketing guy, and I would like your marketing to be more accountable, too. It's abut time.
Let's begin with a look at the status of traditional marketing today. You will quickly notice, if you haven't already, that it is broken.
Take a quick scan of mass media. By now, you are well aware that mankind has created all sorts of technological tools to block advertisements on television and the Web. Commercial-free radio is gaining in popularity to boot. Where's the accountability for marketers in mass media?
As we shift from advertising, or mass media, to more direct marketing tactics, the situation only worsens. Direct mail has a failure rate in excess of 95 percent. Only with a great list, a compelling offer and repetition of message can anyone come close to getting a 5 percent success rate.
That is not what I would call accountability; would you?
Lest you think e-mail is the solution, consider the fact that 85 percent to 91 percent of all electronic mail messages are SPAM. On the whole, only 27 percent of e-mail messages are ever even opened. Aside from marketing, name one other category of business spending where you knowingly, willingly invest in something that is ineffective 19 out of 20 times. That's an accountability void, no matter how you score it.
Traditional advertising - sadly it has become a practice that's been rendered ineffective. How did we get to this point? There are a number of related casual factors: We got a little lazy and stopped paying close attention; the world changed (i.e., the Internet became ubiquitous). Yet we kept doing the same old things and expecting results.
Traditional marketing is broken. We want to make it become more accountable. Really, it is a great time to do so. Rather than fixing or revamping the broken model, why not reform it.
With the Internet, a true commitment to change and a little bit of strategic thinking, you can fix your marketing and make it more accountable. In fact, there has never been a more opportune time in the history of business to engage in marketing that's measurable - marketing that is truly accountable.
Naturally, your marketing program doesn't just become more accountable. You have to make it more accountable. This is going to require some work and some new thinking on your part, not to mention some discipline. It will be well worth it. So if you are ready, here's your step-by-step guide to maximizing the accountability of your marketing. We'll get you started with these eight very basic but important steps:
1. Make it your policy. Flip the switch. No longer settle for marketing that cannot be measured, quantified or assessed. If you can't tell whether it is working, it probably isn't.
2. Become obsessed with measurement. As management giant Peter Drucker counseled, "We cannot manage that which we cannot measure." So follow Drucker's sage advice and start tracking everything related to your marketing. I want you to promise to establish categories for tracking each area of your marketing spending. Give me an advertising expense line, one for public relations and another for Internet. It never ceases to amaze me when I am called in as the consultant to fix a client's marketing, and they do not even have a marketing category on the expense ledger.
3. Require accountability from all of your marketing partners. Insist that each consultant, agency, or vendor, provide you with a report - not just of the activity - but also of the results. Following your campaign, meet with them to estimate and discuss your return on investment with them. If you want to be bold and really drive this home, write accountability requirements into your RFP and contract boilerplates.
4. Discover and use the six most important words in marketing: "How did you hear about us?" Ask this question obsessively. Log it. Look at the reports, monthly at first, then quarterly after you've got a handle on things.
5. Define your goals with respect to your overall marketing program. How much are you willing to spend? Then, determine an expected return on that investment. Don't set the bar too low. Give your marketing a challenge. Marketing should generate an ROI equal to your companywide media ROI.
6. Set accountability goals for each tactical area of your marketing program. What is your ROI goal for your advertising expenditure? What do you hope to get in return for your sponsorship investments? How many people do you plan to activate… what percentage of them are existing customers? How many visitors do you need to convert to new customers to break even on your sponsorship? This requires a big shift in thinking. Refer back to item No 1.
7. Examine your Web site traffic. It's easier to do than ever. Google Analytics is a free service, and it is incredibly good. You will not believe how deeply and how powerfully you can drill down to analyze your Web site traffic. If it's worth having a Web site (and it certainly is!), it is worth the time to monitor its effectiveness and to keep making it better. No more excuses. You don't even need to go to your Webmaster for a report anymore.
8. Speaking of the Internet, it is time to re-examine how customers find you online. What are the search phrases that visitors are Googling to find you and get to your Web site? We all think we know, but we truly do not. In my work with a tourism client recently, we had an epiphany. This client thought they were offering (i.e., marketing to their online audience) "scenic beauty" and "river float trips". Ironically, the most common search phrase driving people to their Web site was Civil War wax museum." We learned something; so will you.
For too long there's been a huge, unfortunate void of accountability in marketing, in advertising, in public relations. This has become such an issue of importance to me… such a personal point of irritation… that I have decided to do something about it. I am teaming up with Jeff James of Mythology Marketing LLC and Justin Seibert of Direct Online Marketing to address this matter of accountability in marketing head on. We are offering an intense, full-day workshop at five cities around the state over a five-week period.
If you're ready to make your marketing more accountable, register to attend Next Generation Marketing. Let's get started. Please visit www.MarketingConference.org to get all the details or to make your reservation.
Skip Lineberg is co-founder and chief creative officer of Maple Creative, LLC, a Charleston marketing firm.
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