Demonstrating the value of marketing, winning as a company and as a marketer

How do you demonstrate the value of marketing? We live in a world of ‘Big Data’ and have dozens of apps and tools to measure the results of our marketing but drown in that huge pile of information. BCG states that marketers struggle to demonstrate value because they fundamentally do not answer the right questions. The result is that management does not see the right data and therefore does not see the benefit of new techniques; the organization misses opportunities. But how do you actually demonstrate the value of marketing?

This topic is close to our hearts. We see companies missing opportunities by not using certain resources, simply because they cannot prove what it delivers. A shame.

More marketing techniques and channels create complexity

We come from a much simpler time: impressions. Through radio, TV, and ads in magazines or newspapers, impressions could be purchased; at trade shows, we collected cards. The result was shown on one PowerPoint slide. More money often resulted in more impressions or cards (leads). In a world of social media marketing, content marketing, SEO, and influencer marketing, it’s not that simple anymore. The value of an impression varies, you no longer collect cards or only very late in the customer journey. Marketers faithfully collect all that data and build complex presentations to make their results transparent. The result is that management and other departments drop out: too complex.

Value of marketing: essential questions

That complexity is understandable, BCG states, marketers do not answer the right questions. Fortunately, the right questions are not the hardest:

  1. Do we measure and track both the short- and long-term value of marketing?
  2. Does that provide answers and insights that can lead to action?
  3. Are these understandable and credible for the CEO, CFO, and the rest of the organization?

If the answer to any of these is no, you need to go back to the drawing board.

Complexity is the enemy

Back to the amount of data and tools; which do you really need? From the essential questions, probably a number of KPIs have emerged that precisely represent the value of marketing for the organization. Select the data and tools needed to make these transparent and use them in the reporting. Cut the rest:

“… marketing leadership should avoid the temptation to aim for perfection rather than confidence. That is, instead of striving for the ideal, it is far more effective and practical to apply the necessary ­resources to develop and build consensus around a simple set of metrics and tools that do the job well and that will consistently demonstrate value and improvement.” – BCG, 2017

4 rules to connect the value of marketing with actual results

waarde van marketing meten1. Don’t check your own homework

As an organization, determine based on which data marketing will be evaluated. This prevents you from getting bogged down in metrics that only marketing understands from tools nobody trusts.

2. Establish a ‘measurement and decision architecture’

Determine how measurement is done and which decisions are made based on it. This ensures uniformity and clarity, which removes much discussion.

3. Explicitly choose metrics and tools

Which figures and tools do you use to gain the necessary insights? This is the point we made earlier; less is more.

4. Think long-term

Even with simple KPIs and measurement methods, it will take some time for the organization to get used to it, so make sure this does not change annually. That forces you to choose KPIs that are channel- or expression-independent, harder but not difficult.

Value of marketing: the goal

Measuring and accounting is of course not a goal in itself; ultimately, it is about the contribution to the organization’s performance. By making the value of marketing transparent, other departments understand the contribution/added value marketing delivers and are more likely to use it integrally. This increases the return on marketing efforts. At the same time, it ensures that the different departments pursue the same goal, which in English is called ‘alignment’.

For you as a marketer, it naturally means more understanding, space, and opportunities for innovation. A new channel that is excellent for improving a certain KPI? You can now explain that much more easily.