Sign of the Times, Coke Pushes for "Value-Based" Marketing Compensation

I've had writer's block for a few weeks ... trying to find some societal thread to marketing continuing education, but in a way that would not necessarily repeat the same themes of the past. Something finally hit me over the head today, as I was reading my online version of Advertising Age. Today, AdAge reported that the Coca Cola Company is moving to a "value-based" compensation model for those marketing and advertising firms working with the company. This means that if you don't produce, they're probably out or they won't make much. If they do produce, the article suggests that the agency can make a 30% profit margin.

What the article also emphasizes is "value over effort." This is my link to continuing education marketing. All too often, college and university continuing education units put a great deal of emphasis on design and brochure creation and not enough on strategy and customer-centricity. Academia has allowed many of its marketers to react to advertising needs, repeat media purchases because "we've always done it this way," and not report the hard data and metrics of success. What is also lacking is the prioritized return on investment of the institution's many marketing efforts ... which one works better, which one reaches more and converts more and which one requires less effort to produce (while producing a reasonable or strong return).

What Coca Cola is doing is measuring and rewarding based on accountability. Gone should be the days of "we can't measure it because it is part of the branding initiative" at the continuing education unit. Gone should be "it is too hard to measure" or "we know it works well because students tell us." So what can universities and colleges do?

• Challenge their customer relationship management and enrollment systems. Our systems should be able to track a person as they come in, leave or become stalled.
• Have a strategic competency in your marketing staff or be building one.
• Review the process where inquiries come in. This shouldn't be a black hole. They either call, leave electronic data or walk in. We should be able to capture it.
• Sit in the seat of the prospect/customer. We secret shop the intake process for many of our clients. Might be a good idea for you to do the same.
• Build a marketing culture that is based on science and not the back of a cocktail napkin regarding a "good marketing idea." Strategy starts on science.

While you as an educational professional might be saying "This is soda that we are talking about. This isn't relevant to education." It is relevant, as one of the best marketers in the world is changing its culture. It isn't just about selling soft drinks. It is about asking our marketers for metrics, measures and accountability. It's about asking for more science and discipline and not just creative ability (while it is important, it is just part of the puzzle). Coke is it ... we should follow suit.