As we are well into 2015, many of us marketers may have resolved to do a better job of measuring metrics. Measuring metrics can be a daunting task – especially if you’ve never done it before. And for seasoned marketers, you want to ensure that it’s not just an exercise – you need to know that what you’re measuring makes sense for your business.
Everyone knows that measuring metrics correctly is key to successful marketing. No one wants to spend resources (time, energy, money) on something that doesn’t make a difference. To further a company’s goals, don’t you want to focus on what are creating the best results?
But how do you decide what to measure? There are an overwhelming number of areas that can be analyzed. For instance, brand awareness, brand equity, email open rates, impressions, marketing qualified leads, sales qualified leads, number of Facebook followers, number of re-tweets, or number of shares on LinkedIn. This is a good time to review your target audience and what objectives you want to achieve by reaching them. Then select a few areas where you are spending the most resources. Is it in social media? Is it in-person events? Is it in thought leadership? That will guide you in knowing what to measure.
After deciding on a few areas to measure, it’s important to have consensus on the definition of each metric. What does “marketing qualified lead” mean to each stakeholder in the organization? Why do they think it’s important to measure? And how will it be measured? Without this foundation, it will be difficult to provide results that make sense and to know how to achieve even better results.
Now that you’ve decided to what each measurement means to everyone, don’t worry if you’ve decided to have a new set of metrics this year or are wondering how to set a goal if you didn’t have a clear foundation before. Make a list of just a few items and put the tools in place to help you measure the metric. Once you have that, then measure for one month. After you have that under your belt, set a goal for the next month. This allows you to adjust your marketing activities and then when you have measured for a year, it will become much easier to set a goal for the next year.
Everyone wants to use resources efficiently to get the best results for the organization. And this can be done by knowing what to measure, how to measure and communicating often with your team to ensure that adjustments are made quickly to ensure that your marketing efforts help your organization succeed.
This blog was written by Shanthi Subramanian Marketing Director at Gimmal.