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Marketing Metrics in Action

Laura Patterson | Resources > From the section: Book Reviews

September, 05, 2014 |

SLMA Staff Reviewer
$24.95 6 x 9 papes 158 pages Publisher: Racom Communications www.racombooks.com

Cover of Marketing Metrics in Action by Laura Patterson

Talk about marketing accountability has become almost commonplace. And most marketing executives"get it." They understand the need to know the numbers.
The real question is,"Which numbers?"

Marketing Metrics in Action: Creating a Performance-Driven Marketing Organization goes a long way in helping marketers get it. It answers the persistent questions and addresses everyday problems with a balance of sound theory and technique and practical application.

When faced with the prospect of learning many marketing execs gird their loins, contort their faces, and roll up their sleeves as they prepare to attack a 450-page tome filled with tiny type, massive equations, and incomprehensible technical explanations that have little connection with most forms of marketing and sales reality. In short, something painful that may or may not help.

Not here. The book's 12 chapters are from 10 to 20 pages each, with one exception: Advanced Analytics (Chapter 8) is 35 pages long, but at least you've been warned. Overall, the organization is logical, from Setting goals to Defining scope, Understanding the business to Using external information, Defining strategy and aligning your marketing plans with it to the types of metrics (and advanced analytics), and how to select the ones that are right for you. This is followed by solid advice on how to selecting technology and vendors and, finally, implementing everything you have learned successfully. A concluding"Final Thoughts" brings the page count to a trim 217.

Then comes the remarkable part for those who might want more: a 55+ page appendix of Sample Metrics organized by type (Financial Metrics, Brand Metrics, Consumer Metrics, etc.), Use and Efficiency, and Function—all in easy-to-understand explanations.

Then comes the only mice type in the book: an 18-page index, remarkable for a book of this length, but, with the length appendix, making it a great reference work as well as a handy how-to.

A summary follows. Throughout the book the author, a veteran of marketing on both"sides"—the client side and the consultant side—explains how to make marketing metrics work for you. First, every company's product makeup, competitive situation, resources, and internal strengths and weaknesses differ. So do its needs for particular metrics. It is necessary to be able to identify which metrics matter to your organization's circumstances.

Next it is necessary to create a culture of accountability. Everyone in the organization has to be –and be seen as being—on the same side and on the same page. Finance can't be seen as"the enemy," and Sales and Marketing need work especially hard to coordinate their efforts. And this sense of accountability needs to extend from the C-Suite to the customer service and order entry people. Everyone must be on board.

With buy-in from the entire organization, using quality approaches and sophisticated ideas has a much better chance of success in the marketplace. A metrics audit will help establish where you are now, and mapping will enable you to align processes to better develop a practical dashboard. Chapters on systems and tools and skills and training, with important contributions by key industry thought leaders, conclude the main body of the book. As mentioned previously, an extensive glossary and appendix end the book.

Newly minted MBAs, flush with confidence, are often heard to say,"Forget that other stuff. Just give me your number. Tell me what metric you're using." Marketing Metrics in Action does much more than just give you a number or a one-size-fits-all formula. It provides smart advice for identifying which metrics matter most to your organization and practical guidance for putting all the sophisticated marketing tools to profitable use in your company.

Zuant: So much more than mobile lead capture.