More on Marketing Metrics, Buyer Beware!

Everybody’s a marketer. In a room full of Ph.D.s, as well as even the assistant of the assistant who’s brother’s cousin is a marketer, the continuing education marketer is often faced with a disadvantage as everyone becomes a marketer. The true marketer needs to have at least one or two things others do not have. One is exceptional, visible talent and experiences while another is a track record of success. If these are not obvious to the crowd of critics, the next best thing is to have data … performance metrics. Of course, it would be great to have all the above, as well as a Ph.D.

Metrics are the great equalizer, however, if you don’t have the knowledge on how to use them or derive them, then they can be dangerous and discrediting. At the 2009 UCEA Management and Marketing Seminars, I just made a big stink for metrics, return on investment (ROI), customer relationship management (CRM), dashboards and marketing scorecards. However, I didn’t offer up a warning.

Not all marketers are created equal. An inexperienced, undertrained marketer using metrics for leverage is like a med student performing surgery. Reporting and deriving metrics requires some level of skill or training. If done incorrectly, it could result in a marketing unit or director being discredited. Reporting metrics with skill can shift the power back toward marketing … when a marketing director needs the benefit of doubt or needs to take an occasional risk, having a little bit of power might help a new initiative or marketing effort. Marketer beware, a little bit of power can kill you … or can move you miles ahead.