Marketing Metrics Series

Far too many marketing positions today combines both sales and marketing function. Look at any job advertisement today and you will find, "Director of Sales and Marketing", "Sales and Marketing Manager/Executive". And you will also find job descriptions that include, "create and implement sales and marketing strategies for set goals and targets", "networking and negotiation skill", and "proven track record for sales experience".

So, how much is really marketing? Well, depending on how you want to see it. Sales is in fact part of marketing. Or somehow seems to have taken the dominant and only role in "sales and marketing" as it is easier to quantify with sales targets and sales-related scorecards. This creates a misleading definition of the marketing function because the marketing team will only be responsible for achieving a sales target and ignores the other critical marketing functions like, strategy, business development, advertising, PR or promotion, product development and others. In "create and implement sales and marketing strategy", the marketing strategy takes backstage and is used to compliment and support sales most of the time.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) define marketing as 'The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably'.

I believe in order to qualify a marketing position, certain metrics or marketing functions (besides selling) should be fulfilled. The marketing title can be exclusively used (and restricted) only when the position involves a level of marketing responsibilities. The CIM has introduced an effective professional qualification under the Chartered Marketer program to equip marketer with the necessary skill, knowledge and marketing acument. This should be enhanced by working with the necessary authorities to create a guideline and defining the global marketing jobcode description.

For example, a marketing position must fulfill a balance of;
- Customer engagement and Marketing planning - Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning, Forecasting, Customer satisfaction
- Products - Prices, Promotion and Retail, Product development

What I would like to emphasize here is not about creating another effective metric or measurement, but to enforce the relevant marketing metrics in order to qualify a marketing position. The future of marketing depends on this. As the distinction between "sales" and "marketing" becomes less and less, the future role of marketing could eventually be consumed by sales measurements. The once "tip of the iceberg" could become the iceberg because - because bullshit talks, money walks, and the money here is in profits and sales targets.

So how do we make marketing the money?

For someone to be in Marketing, you need to be accountable for the business performance, promotion program, product development and positioning, and others. You don't need a marketing degree or a Chartered Marketer professional qualification to be selling cars, credit cards or some product where customer feedback is just part of an annual survey - and where you have no influence whatsoever in the marketing mix and business strategy.

More on Marketing Metrics...

Measuring Marketing: 103 Key Metrics Every Marketer Needs (John Davis)
Marketing is now being asked to be measurably accountable for not only the top-line of their income statement, but also for the bottom-line as well. They're being asked to account for the total marketing program in addition to its component product programs, its advertising, sales promotion, sales and distribution, and pricing programs. This is the first book that addresses the clamor and demand from marketing’s many stakeholders to be accountable for its strategies and activities.

Magic Numbers for Consumer Marketing specifically describes key marketing measures commonly used in business. The book is designed to help marketers and non-marketers alike recognize the best measures to use when assessing the performance of marketing programs. Each marketing measure is defined, along with relevant examples and/or illustrations. Furthermore, the risks associated with relying too much on these formulas to the exclusion of other business inputs is discussed, providing readers with helpful guidelines of when these measures are most appropriate. From market share to customer lifetime value, there are numerous formulas that will help business people measure both the potential opportunity and actual results of various marketing activities. In addition, Magic Numbers for Consumer Marketing also describes key non-formulaic marketing frameworks, including brand value and brand culture. The frameworks and formulas are presented together because each depends on the other. Understanding the frameworks enables managers to more clearly see the link between organization design and outcomes, while the formulas help measure specific marketing program performance.