If someone in your organization spent $150,000 on a product or service that didn’t work, [with no Return On Investment] you’d be hard pressed to find any reasons why this individual should be a part of your business. So why is marketing and advertising guided by a different set of rules? I have spoken with dozens of companies who can’t tell me the return generated by specific marketing activities. The people I’ve spoken with are frustrated, treating the marketing department as an expense - not an investment. As marketers, it’s our job to ensure that marketing is seen as a business investment - and not as an expense prone to systematic budget cuts everytime sales are down.

Part of the problem is marketing isn’t marketing if it’s not measured.  One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is in thinking that their advertising and marketing programs will work because they’ve spent a lot of time creating strategic plans and hiring the best agencies. The problem with agencies is they are not held accountible for results [when was the last time you paid an agency strictly for performance? or measureable results?]

The next time you watch television take note of how many companies [spending millions of dollars on creative campaigns and advertising] have no clear call to action [one way they can measure marketing effectiveness]. It boggles the mind. Now some might argue that these companies are investing heavily in generating consumer awareness but I would say “so what?” Awareness doesn’t equal more sales.  Everyone is aware of Apple’s iMac but not everyone is rushing out to buy one.

So how do you create advertising and marketing initiatives that generate better returns? Firstly, here’s what you need to communicate to potential buyers about your business: Tell them what you do and why you’re doing it? And then tell them why should they buy your product or service? Secondly, be accountible. Tie your marketing, advertising, and promotional activities to measurement. If it’s not measured, it’s not marketing.

Thirdly, by tracking and analyzing your marketing effectiveness, you’ll have the information you need to make corrective course changes. Find out what’s working and what doesn’t [and why?]. The goal of marketing is more sales. So test, measure, test measure, test measure. And do it all over again. The fact is, advertising has to sell. If it doesn’t, you’re wasting valuable money and resources.  

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