This chapter explores the crucial role of benchmarks in shaping investment decisions for marketing budgets, emphasizing the need for meaningful comparisons. The discussion highlights the distinctions between benchmarks and baselines, the importance of historical data for setting benchmarks, and the complexities surrounding performance measurement. Listeners are encouraged to critically examine the interpretations of both internal and external benchmarks to make informed decisions.
It's human nature to want to compare yourself or your organization against your competition, but how valuable are benchmarks to your business strategy? Benchmarks can be dangerous. You can rarely put your hands on all the background and context since, by definition, benchmark data is external to your organization. And you can also argue that benchmarks are a lazy way to evaluate performance, or at least some co-hosts on this episode feel that way! Eric Sandosham, founder and partner at Red & White Consulting Partners (and prolific writer), along with Moe, Tim, and Val break down the problems with benchmarking and offer some alternatives to consider when you get the itch to reach for one! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.