BETTER PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT CONTINUES
TO BE A FOCUS FOR SENIOR MARKETERS
By Naras Eechambadi, CEO
 In 2005, analytics and marketing applications that improve the accountability and measurability of marketing spending were a high priority for many of our clients, and this was reflected in our results. We had the best year ever in our history on a variety of fronts, including client satisfaction and growth in revenues among our existing clients as well as employee attrition, which came down to negligible rates despite a hot job market. Based on current trends and visibility we expect to see more of the same in 2006.
Many of our clients are planning, building and using marketing dashboards to help improve measurability. Currently they tend to be large firms in industries that spend significantly on marketing, such as financial services, pharma, high technology, automotive and telecom, but we see broader adoption in the future. Dashboards permit marketers to track the results of marketing campaigns on an ongoing basis as well as allow senior executives in marketing, finance and operations to look at the big picture across campaigns and channels, and analyze the impact on customer, revenues and the bottom line.
While Marketing ROI seems to be all the rage today, the backlash is probably not too far behind. ROI is nice as a final measure, but the value often comes from measuring factors that drive ROI, because that is where you can make changes and improvements.
Companies are not paying enough attention to these intermediate, causal measures.
Marketing has always sought a balance between short-term impact that can be achieved through promotions and direct marketing vs. the longer-term impact that comes from building brand awareness and equity. An exclusive focus on ROI drives short-term considerations that could do damage to long-term brand and customer building.
Marketing Resource Management applications are also making it easier for marketers to gather all of their planning and execution data within one system as well as manage complex processes and handoffs more efficiently. This is the first step toward accountability, i.e. figuring out where the money is going. Dashboards, of course, help to round off the other end by helping quantify the business impact of that spending.
The world of marketing will be challenged to keep up with these developments in what promises to be another exciting year. We look forward to partnering with you on these efforts in 2006.
--
For more thoughts from Naras Eechambadi, please click here to read his latest article, “Marketing Executives Sought—But Didn't Quite Find—More Accountability in 2005.”
--
1930 Camden Road
Charlotte NC 28203
704.414.0200 ext. 370
--
Copyright 2006 Quaero Corporation.
To view this newsletter online, click here.
To view this newsletter in a PDF format, click here.
Quaero is a marketing and technology services company that provides unparalleled value to firms seeking improvement in the effectiveness of their marketing organization and technology investments. To find out more, visit our website at www.quaero.com.
We think you’ll find our hands on insight valuable to your marketing efforts. However, we understand that your time is limited. If you’d prefer not to receive Quaero’s newsletter, you can opt out now by clicking here.
|
