A while back I heard an interesting take on the true meaning of the “Information Age”. The premise of the speaker’s argument was that we shouldn’t think of it as the “Information Age” because there is so much information at our disposal, but instead it’s because we have the ability to pull from that sea of facts and figures only the information relevant to what we are looking for.
This idea is particularly applicable when it comes to big data, and for marketers there has been an explosion in the volume, variety, and velocity of data we can access.
For companies, like Amazon, that can harness this information and act upon it, they have the upper hand while the rest are left floundering in it.
Of the wealth of data marketers can draw from, arguably the most important is that related to ROI. The bottom line drives everything in business, and marketing is not exempt from scrutiny here.
Even so, it is surprising how many companies are spending dollars on marketing initiatives, yet are failing to tie such efforts to financial outcomes.
Smart Resources
We love sharing knowledge that empowers people to be successful.
The Problem
One of the issues endemic to this isn’t the lack of data available, but rather the deluge of data marketers can drown themselves in.
According to a 2012 joint study conducted by the Columbia Business School and the New York American Marketing Association entitled Marketing ROI in the Era of Big Data, 39% of marketers at major brands claimed they could not turn data into actionable insights.
Furthermore, 37% made no mention of financial outcomes when defining marketing ROI, and 57% reported they are not basing their budgets on any ROI analysis.
The study points out that having digital data doesn’t mean it’s easier to link digital marketing to business objectives or to clear ROI. This goes back to what I mentioned earlier about the “Information Age” and the ability to sort out only the useful information.
For marketers looking to show their financial worth, ROI is then contingent upon the Return on Information they invest their time and focus on.
In other words, showing real ROI hinges on gathering only the right information, from the right sources, to make the right business decisions.
Get More Deals
Account-based Marketing gets results!
Get More Leads
Need ideas to generate leads from your website?
Keep Your Goal in Sight
The essential building block for Return on Information is to set clear business objectives for all digital marketing efforts. Without this it’s a rudderless ship making it difficult to navigate through which metrics are pertinent and which are just data points.
As a general example, take metrics such as likes and tweets from your social channels and tie them to the universal metrics related to key performance indicators (KPI).
Naturally, your business objectives may vary, and as such, your metrics will vary too with an eye on consumption, sharing, engagement, lead generation, or sales analytics. These should tie in some way back to the financials in order to look good to those outside of marketing.
According to the Columbia University/NYAMA study, 70% of those surveyed said their departments are under greater scrutiny and 39% admit their efforts should be focused on strategies that have measurable financial outcomes. Despite this, however, 68% are still basing their budgets on historical spending while 28% are using “gut instincts.”
This wouldn’t fly with Debbie Qaqish, Chief Revenue Marketing Officer at the Pedwitz Group. In fact, Qaqish dismisses all activity-based digital marketing metrics (sharing, consumption, etc.) as “who-gives-a-flip” data. Put bluntly, this is not what CEOs want to see.
She suggests looking at statistics such as the number of sales-qualified leads, the percentage of sales-qualified leads to opportunities, the percentage of conversions to close, the percentage of leads contributing to the pipeline, and the number of days to close a lead, just to name a few.
Qaqish also recommends building a revenue-based marketing strategy that incorporates processes with standard conversion rates that help forecast revenue rather than just report historical performance.
The focus, according to her, should be to build processes and tools that extend across sales and marketing to “drive repeatable, scalable revenue impact on growth.”
Are you getting good leads from your website?
As a final note, both Qaqish and the study make the interesting suggestion of placing emphasis on the human factors involved with getting a return on information.
Qaqish mentions conducting a skills analysis of marketing teams to assess gaps in knowledge and training that would help departments attain a better revenue-marketing model while the Columbia University/NYAMA study recommends both communicating marketing ROI goals across departments and incentivizing employees for meeting these same goals.
The takeaway in all of this is that, when determining what information is usable from among all the data that exists, start by drawing a line that ties to your company’s overall business objectives and extend it to factors related to financial impact.
It’s not that all other data is necessarily bad; much of it may be useful within the marketing department. When it comes to big data and ROI, make sure to get a usable, actionable return on the information your company focuses on.
Ron Mattocks
Ron Mattocks was born and raised in rural, Pennsylvania before joining the Army after high school. After serving as Infantry captain, he next worked as an executive at a Fortune 500 real estate and development company. Eventually, Ron switched to marketing, later consulting for companies such as GMC, ConAgra, Mattel, and others. Ron is also a published author and contributor to publications such as The Huffington Post, Disney's Babble, and the TODAY Show. In 2017 Ron co-founded Bull Moose Marketing where he is the VP of Client Strategies. He is also the Board VP of the Crawford County Historical Society and serves on the board for the Crawford County Planning Commission.
Help Articles
The Progressive Marketer
Marketing articles for manufacturing, construction, B2B services, tourism, and other industry segments working to make their communities better places to work and live.
Your Visitors Just Want to Feel Understood
When it comes to travel, your visitors want to feel understood. Destinations that can show empathy and understanding will gain their trust and loyalty.
What Does the Metaverse Mean for Rural Destinations?
With the Metaverse making tourism headlines everywhere, it’s vital for rural DMOs and CVBs to know what this trend means for their destination.
How to Build an Authentic Brand Promise with Your Destination’s Website
It’s important to make sure the first impression, and every touch-point in between, is one that’s authentic for your DMO, CVB or cultural nonprofit. Your visitors want to know that your area is worth the visit, and that they can trust that you’re marketing an experience that will match up to expectations.