Tackling the 'Too Hard to' Pile of Marketing Accountability

If you're like us, you probably have one of those piles on your desk that keeps being moved from one corner to another. You know, that pile you need to get to but avoid because it will take some real effort to tackle? For many marketing professionals, marketing accountability, analytics, and ROI are in this pile.

Not too long ago at a marketing conference where Laura was speaking, the organizers had set up round tables with specific topics for discussion over breakfast. Laura was sitting at the measuring marketing ROI table (of course, where else would I be sitting?), strategically located right next to the buffet line.

While she was sitting there waiting for people to join her, she kept hearing people say, "Oh, measuring marketing, that's just too hard." Hundreds of marketers were attending this conference, and about two dozen tables of 10 were set to accommodate the early risers. Yet only four other brave souls joined her.

We marketers must stop avoiding this topic and tackle the pile.

As Sylvia Reynolds, CMO of Wells Fargo, has said, "Marketing must be a driver of tangible business results...we must start with the goal in mind and a clear way to measure that goal."

ROI is important for accountability—besides being able to justify spending and enable us to run the marketing organization more effectively and efficiently, knowing what is and isn't working helps marketing achieve greater influence and serve in a more strategic role.

Various surveys suggest that over one-third, and as much as 42%, of marketing budgets are not adequate enough to achieve the outcomes and impact expected. Perhaps your organization like many others is in the thick of budget planning. A key part of budget planning is to establish and validate the money you plan to spend. The more aligned Marketing is with the outcomes of the organization and the more the plan includes performance targets and metrics, the more likely you will be allocated the budget you need to achieve the expected results.

So what does it take to tackle this Marketing Accountability pile? Here are six affordable steps that any marketing organization can take to start whittling away at the marketing accountability and measurement pile.

Focus

Nothing of importance miraculously gets done on its own. Effectively tackling the marketing measurement pile will take all of Covey's seven habits—from taking a proactive approach and beginning with the end in mind (that is, the outcomes you are expected to impact), to keeping the effort a priority when other things present themselves as urgencies, to making marketing measurement a win/win for you, your team, and the rest of the organization.

More than likely, you are going to need a cross-functional team to tackle this pile—people from Finance, Sales, IT, Operations, etc.—working collaboratively to define the metrics and hunt down and organize the data.

Plan an attack

You know that age-old question, "How do you eat an elephant?" The answer: "One bite at a time." That approach is valid for the marketing accountability and ROI question.

If this is a new effort for you, you need to break it into manageable pieces. Quantify your objectives, decide how you will measure them, collect the data that you need to meet the objectives, establish a baseline, gain commitment to the measurement plan, and, finally, measure.


Get data

"Data is the new creative," declares Stephan Chase of Marriott Rewards. Establishing metrics, determining effectiveness, understanding efficiencies... all take data. Without data you cannot monitor and measure results.

And don't assume that you have the data that you need to measure your objectives. For example, if you want to measure how many new customers you interest in a new product, you may find that you need first to determine what a "new" customer is. This may require different views of your customer records or new strategies for evaluating.

Analyze

Once you have the data, the challenge is to generate insights that facilitate fact-based decision-making.

One of the most valuable applications of data and analytics is in leveraging your metrics. The metrics are what enable continuous improvement as you strive to achieve and set new performance standards.

Just looking at numbers doesn't tell you as much as evaluating trends or creating statistical models that help you identify an optimized approach to your marketing efforts. Consider looking at your measurements for what isn't immediately obvious, such as what might have happened if that campaign had gone to the three bottom deciles of customers.

Use a systemized process

You may need to set up systems and processes that enable you to capture and track results on an ongoing basis. Many organizations put a substantial amount of energy into initiating these programs and then let them fizzle as other priorities surface. It takes both process and discipline to sustain a measurement effort.

Systems help you automate a process so that the process can become a manageable part of your day-to-day operations. Today, every marketing organization is moving at a breathless pace. Implementing a test-and-control environment can keep you from having a fatal, head-on collision.

Train

Many marketers are unaccustomed to living in a metrics-based environment. You may need to invest in measurement, analytics, as well as data training and skills development.

Start by taking a skills inventory. Find out who in the organization has data management, analytics, and measurement skills. Decide what skills they need to perform at your expected levels. Develop training that fills the skill gaps.

Doing this in-house allows you to tailor to your needs, but consider courses from universities, associations, and external consultants to fill out your requirements.


Moving marketing performance metrics from the "too hard to" pile to the "we can do it" pile can reap rewards for the entire organization.

Top Tip Today

Three Ways to Improve Your Lead-Nurturing Strategy.

by Kathy Rizzo

Although more than 80% of high-tech marketers say they have a lead-nurturing strategy, 64% say their strategy needs improvement, according to a February 2008 survey by TeleNet Marketing Solutions.

As for which areas of overall lead-generation strategy tech marketers would like to improve in the next year, nurturing of long-term leads was the No. 1 response.

Nurturing shortens the sales cycle and improves return on investment from lead-generation activities, so it is important to reconsider your nurturing strategy frequently. Consider the following three recommendations to enhance your strategy.

1. Add or enhance human-touch strategies

When developing a lasting business relationship, it is critical to engage in verbal communication not only to exchange information but also to build trust. Legitimate relationships are an important part of business—critically important when selling a service or solution. If you rely solely on electronic-based communication to nurture prospects, you are missing a vital element.

Consider the definition of lead nurturing: In a complex sales cycle, nurturing is a relationship-building approach utilizing multiple media to provide relevant information to prospects and engage in an ongoing dialog until qualified prospects are deemed "sales ready."

Another way of looking at the value of human touch is to consider the opportunities missed simply because the prospect is too busy to search the Internet for your company's content or download a whitepaper or respond to your email.

However, if you personally reach out to prospects via well-timed phone calls, you make it easier for your prospect to focus on the problem and take action. This is especially true when the telephone calls are relevant and focused, providing value to the prospect.

Here are three items to consider when you add or enhance a telemarketing (human-touch) nurturing approach.

A. Contact prospects at the opportune time:

• Always look for direction from your prospect (e.g., "Please call me back in two weeks").
• When appropriate, recommend the next phone call based on the buying stage of the prospect. These intervals can be predetermined for each buying stage, making it easy to recommend the next phone call ("C" rated leads are contacted in 30 day intervals, "D" rated leads are contacted in 60 days intervals, etc.).
• Consider the receptiveness of prospects. If they are receptive to new information and frequent communication, shorten the intervals between phone calls. Do not try to force all prospects into the same contact strategy.
• Look for triggering events. Newsworthy events such as a major acquisition may serve as an opportune time to contact a prospect.

B. Train your team on the four goals of each telemarketing contact:

1. Only provide prospects information that is deemed valuable and relevant.
2. Expand prospects' profile by learning more about their current situation and environment. Get them talking!
3. Continue to learn about changing business priorities and critical issues that will affect purchase plans.
4. Determine whether a prospect is "sales ready."

C. Be strategic and think before dialing:

• Think about the extent of the prospect's previous interaction with your company.
• Consider details of prior nurturing practices—conversations, e-communications, content downloaded, events, etc.
• What do you already know about the prospect's situation?
• What else does your sales representative need to know in order to successfully engage in the sales process with this prospect?
• How can you be valuable to the prospect?

A nurturing telemarketing call is very different from a tele-qualification phone call. When integrating telemarketing into a nurturing strategy, pay special attention to the required skill level of your agents. Because calls are not scripted, the agents must be trained on your solution, understand buyer challenges, and have adequate content to convey value to the prospects.

Most importantly, agents should have excellent communication skills; if they do, prospects will view your company as a credible source and viable solution for their business situation.

2. Get back to the basics with your email strategy

Email is an important part of any nurturing strategy. While you can integrate graphic-rich emails into the strategy, it is worthwhile to also include periodic text emails that appear as personalized communication to your prospect.

Develop plain-text email templates that are perceived as relevant and individualized and do not come across as mass advertising.

Create templates that are easily customized by your nurturing team. Messages can be emailed to strategic groups of contacts (e.g., prospects in a specific industry) or sent on a case-by-case basis.

As you create the email templates...

• Keep the text short and limit the information. Many people do a quick scan of their messages in the preview window before opening them, so make the message brief. Be mindful about the amount of information you provide. If you offer all possible information up front, there is little reason for prospects to speak with you. The key is to give just enough relevant information to pique their interest and desire to continue a dialogue with your company.
• Tie your message into a common business issue. Personalize your message to your prospect's industry or job function by stating a unique business issue that they likely face. For instance, "Being in a services industry presents unique challenges such as..." This shows prospects that you understand their situation and are talking directly to them.
• Reference past contact. Whether following up with a prospect because they downloaded a whitepaper or because of a previous conversation, the email should reference the last contact (including the date, if available). This catches the attention of the prospect and acts as a reminder of their previous interest. Examples: "Based on our conversation on March 16" or "Last week you downloaded our special whitepaper titled..."
• Build on your human touch. It is important to have emails come from the persons providing human-touch telemarketing. This tactic helps build the relationship and allows your prospects to identify with a real person within your company. Prospects do not develop relationships with companies, they develop relationships with individuals in those companies.

3. Develop a scorecard to measure effort and ensure the appropriate focus

Every touch is not created equal. Many companies develop scorecards to assess sales-readiness (budget, authority, need, timeframe). While that's an effective use of scoring, it's also recommended that you develop a "nurturing touch" scoring system, whereby a numeric value is assigned to each type of touch (conversation, strategic voicemail, email, mailed fulfillment, etc.).

When creating the scoring system, consider the following:

• Expense of the touch. For instance, a one-on-one conversation is typically the most expensive, so it receives the highest score. Conversely, a text email is less expensive and receives a lower score.
• Impact of the touch. A one-on-one conversation provides the most impact, as information is given and received simultaneously. On the other hand, text emails are read only 40-60% of the time, with a small number resulting in immediate two-way communication.

In this example, the scoring system may give a numeric value of "4" to every conversation and "2" to every email, which accounts for the difference in both the expense and the impact of the two types of touches. By placing a simple score on each touch, you can start to monitor the average score (or effort) required to nurture a "sales-ready" lead.

Prospects should not be engaged in the nurturing process indefinitely. By creating a scoring system, you can evaluate when a prospect reaches a point of diminishing returns. For instance, you may determine that the average score to create a sales-ready lead is 35 points. Use this intelligence to review prospects that are in your nurturing system; those with a very high score can either be removed from the nurturing system or flagged to receive only lower-cost communication.

Keep nurturing activities focused on the most suitable prospects to ensure the success of your program.

Kathy Rizzo is vice-president of marketing for TeleNet Marketing Solutions (www.telenetmarketing.com), which she cofounded in 1999.

Top Tip Today

Microconnecting With Your Customers via Microblogging: Q&A With Connie Reece

There's a new kid on the social media block that's starting to garner a lot of attention from companies.

Microblogging sites, such as Twitter, are increasingly becoming a companion to an existing blog—or a standalone strategy for businesses that are using social media to connect with their customers.

But many companies aren't sure what the microblogging "rules of the road" are. This is where Connie Reece comes in.

Connie was an early adopter of Twitter and is considered a true microblogging authority. She will be moderating Best Practices in Microblogging session at Marketing Profs Digital Marketing Mixer, and she was kind enough to give us a preview of that session, as well as a primer for companies that want to learn more about Twitter and other microblogging sites.
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Q: Microblogging seems to be the hot area of social media recently. What exactly is a microblogging site, and what makes it different from a blog?

A: "Microblogging" is a misleading term, in my opinion. "Micro" is accurate, because the popular services like Twitter strictly limit content to 140 characters, about the length of the average text message. It's the "blogging" aspect of the term that is fuzzy. Even though you can pack a lot of information into 140 characters, the content and format are much less structured than a blog.

Sometimes you'll see these sites referred to as "presence" applications; in other words, they are a quick and easy way of being "present" with friends who are far away. This phenomenon was aptly termed "ambient awareness" in an excellent article by Clive Thompson for the New York Times: "Brave New World of Digital Intimacy."

Each little update—each individual bit of social information—is insignificant on its own, even supremely mundane. But taken together, over time, the little snippets coalesce into a surprisingly sophisticated portrait of your friends' and family members' lives, like thousands of dots making a pointillist painting. This was never before possible, because in the real world, no friend would bother to call you up and detail the sandwiches she was eating.

Q: A lot of companies seem to be creating presences on Twitter. What are some of the ways that companies can utilize Twitter?

A: Twitter is yet another way to put a personal face on an impersonal entity: the corporation. Most companies are initially attracted to Twitter because they perceive it as an additional marketing channel. If that's all they use it for, they will not succeed.

However, if they use Twitter to actively engage with people, then a couple of things will happen. One, they will be able to use Twitter as a means of promotion, by occasionally sharing links to their online content. But most likely they will wind up using Twitter for the sheer enjoyment of interacting with customers.

As far as particular uses are concerned, Twitter is especially suited to promoting an online contest. It can also be used as an additional sales channel: Dell's Twitter account DellOutlet has generated around $500,000 in sales by offering special discounts to Twitter users. And many Twitter users enjoy subscribing to their favorite news channels on Twitter.

Marketing Profs Digital Mixer conference attendees will get to hear from Bryan Person how he looks forward to ESPN tweets' popping up in his timeline. And I will share how our local newspaper, the Austin American Statesman, not only uses Twitter effectively on a daily basis but provided superb coverage of Hurricane Ike through a special account, TrackingIke.

Another panelist, Frank Eliason, who tweets as ComcastCares, provided an immediate answer to someone who lost Internet service during the hurricane, explaining that Comcast could not restore cable service until the power company gave them clearance. (As we're conducting this interview, some 1.5 million homes in the Houston area are still without power, one week after Ike.)
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Q: While many companies are beginning to explore using Twitter, some companies are finding that their brands are being "hijacked" by people that are posing as employees of a company, but really aren't. How can a company guard against this?

A: Companies need to reserve their name space now, even if they are not ready to use Twitter—and the same applies for other sites. When they do start to use Twitter, the company should add a link from its Web site to its Twitter account, so the public will know the account is genuine.

Of course, companies should be monitoring Twitter to follow chatter about them, and if they find their brand has been hijacked they should contact Twitter to have the unauthorized user account shut down.

Q: Twitter seems to be the microblogging site that most people have heard of, but are there other microblogging sites that companies should be aware of?

A: My favorite, as you know, is Plurk because of its threaded conversations. I love the informal "plurkshops" we have, which are online discussions around a particular topic. (They are archived at plurkshops.com.) I have not seen business adoption of Plurk yet, and it is unlikely until the API is released and it becomes easier to use.

One of the reasons we know that microblogging is here to stay is the rapid uptick in enterprise adoption. Several applications intended for behind-the-firewall use have been launched recently, including Yammer, which is a domain-specific application with many similarities to Twitter.

Q: Moving forward, do you think that companies will begin to use a microblogging strategy in place of a company blog, or in conjunction with an existing blog? Which approach do you think is more effective?

A: Some companies might start with Twitter as their entry-level implementation of social networking, but it will be more effective long-term in conjunction with a blog. The Twitter-blog combination will provide synergy, with Twitter being used to drive traffic to the blog and vice-versa.

Some limitations are inherent in the 140-character format of Twitter: It's difficult to retrieve tweets, for example, if you have more than a few favorites; the lifespan of a tweet can be less than a minute if you follow many people. And some things, like this interview, simply need a longer format.

Tip of the day!

Make Your Viral Dreams Come True

As it becomes easier than ever to produce and distribute online videos, you probably see how the medium can serve as a key marketing tool. And in a guest post at HubSpot's Inbound Internet Marketing Blog, Eric Guerin explains how to give your DIY efforts the competitive edge:

Start with a plan. Don't approach the project haphazardly—treat it like a traditional marketing campaign, and remember to track your video's effectiveness with tools like TubeMogul.

Hit 'em with your best shot. Says Guerin, "A sales video without a hook … will be watched once and forgotten but a video with a hook that captures the viewers' emotions can get passed on endlessly."

You only get three minutes. The longer your video lasts, the less viral it becomes. Guerin recommends a target length of between one and three minutes for maximum effectiveness. "If you have a ton of ideas," he says, "make a series of short videos instead of one long one."

Strut your stuff. A catchy title and description will encourage numerous views, as will accurate "tags"—the keywords viewers and search engines use to find content.

Toot your own horn. Plug your video in blog posts, online campaigns and even in your email signature. Also, establish a presence in online communities. "Blogs, social networking sites and video sharing sites are where consumers spend a majority of their time online," notes Guerin, "and where the greatest opportunity for online engagement exists."

The Po!nt: There's no such thing as a perfect formula for viral success—but following advice like this can greatly increase your chances.

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