“Marketing has always been a grueling and competitive sport – not unlike running a marathon.With the changes in the buying process, in media and technology, and managing expectations, it’s like running a marathon as the ground shifts beneath your feet. What was already difficult, is becoming increasingly difficult. If you’re going to do it without measurement, it’s like running a marathon, in an earthquake, blindfolded.” – David Raab

This is how the on-demand webinar, Metrics that Matter for Marketing Measurement, begins. I recently listened to  Jon Miller, VP of Marketing at Marketo, and David Raab, Principal at Raab Associates, explain the problems held by Marketers today and how they can overcome them by using the right metrics when measuring success. Below are the top reports/metrics to measure:

Report: Marketing ROI: Show the value of Marketing

Measures and Metrics:

  • Marketing costs (all stages)
  • Revenue (related to cohort)
  • ROI (=revenue/cost)

Comments:

  • You need to relate costs and revenue to set of leads
  • It is aggregate, not incremental

Report: Program ROI: Measure program impact

Measures and Metrics:

  • Incremental marketing cost
  • Incremental revenue
  • Incremental ROI

Comments:

  • This requires testing
  • It may not capture long-term effects (e.g. brand programs)

Report: Stage results: Understand stage performance

Measures and Metrics:

  • Stage costs
  • Conversions (to next stage)
  • Lead inventory by stage
  • Cost per conversion
  • Conversion rates
  • Average time to conversion

Comments:

  • It doesn’t show ROI
  • You need to track trends
  • It can be aggregate or incremental

Report: Revenue forecast: Forecast revenue by period

Measures and Metrics:

  • Lead inventory by stage
  • Conversion rate by stage
  • Conversion time by stage
  • Forecast revenue by period

Comments:

  • It doesn’t distinguish marketing-influenced leads from other leads
  • You must consider variations in quality of inventory

Want to learn more? Download the on-demand webinar today.