Measurement of Marketing Tactics

It’s hard to provide a firm number because every brand is different and every program sets out to accomplish different objectives. I recently worked with a brand that was thrilled with an ROI of 40% because their program brought in new users to the category more efficiently than any other tactic. Longer term, these new users will turn a huge profit for the brand. The key to a strong ROI is to spend every dollar wisely against your program objective. If you need to get consumers to taste your product, every dollar should be spent against generating trial. ROI is a simple calculation of benefits over investment. So, make sure you apply the appropriate value to the benefits gained from your effort to achieve an accurate ROI.

The reason we conduct marketing research is to obtain data to make sound business decisions. I believe that marketers should view the measurement costs as an investment and make a commitment to funding the research study appropriately. To maximize your research spend, prioritize what’s most important. Don’t spend on collecting information that you may already have from internal research sources. Evaluate only the key variables that will quantify the success of your efforts. It’s also possible to design the research to measure the strategy, rather than each individual tactic. This sort of data can be relevant for several years and may be useful to other brands in your company, perhaps allowing you to split the cost. I find that the value of the data usually outweighs the cost. So, reinforcing the value may help you to secure the funds.

It’s critical to include measurement in the early stages of program planning. Start by clearly defining your objectives (i.e., generate trial, increase sales, improve brand image, etc.). Then, determine what specific criteria will prove the success of the program. For example, do you need to generate a trial rate of 70% or see a significant sales lift of 10%? A clear understanding of “success criteria” determines how to fit the research methodology into the logistics of the program execution. I’ve seen marketers change elements of their program execution to fit the requirements of the measurement plan. So, as long as you don’t make measurement an afterthought, you can execute a program that is designed to prove the success of your effort.