Proving marketing's impact is more than justifying spend
Oct 2, 2024
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Pranav Piyush, CEO of Paramark, specializes in proving marketing's worth, while Megan Boone, VP of Demand Generation at Redis, focuses on balancing measurable goals with innovative approaches. Jason Widup, a seasoned Fractional CMO, provides valuable insights into fostering leadership trust in marketing. Together, they tackle the struggle of measuring marketing effectiveness. They emphasize the need for a blend of data-driven metrics and intuitive judgment, stressing that not all successful strategies yield immediate results. Building trust through early wins and clear communication is crucial for long-term growth.
Building trust with leadership requires consistent communication about ongoing marketing efforts beyond just visible results.
Successful marketing strategies balance measurable goals with more flexible initiatives to achieve both short-term gains and long-term growth.
Early wins and quick, measurable outcomes are crucial for establishing the trust needed to pursue larger marketing initiatives.
Deep dives
Setting Achievable Goals
Setting reasonable goals is crucial for marketing leaders to demonstrate their effectiveness. It is suggested that goals should be set as low as possible while still maintaining some credibility, allowing for the possibility of exceeding them. This approach creates a buffer that can help build trust and confidence within the team and among leadership. By framing goals in this manner, marketers can ensure they are not overcommitting while also providing achievable benchmarks.
Proving Marketing's Value
Marketing leaders often face challenges in proving their impact within an organization, primarily due to issues with setting proper goals and lack of trust from leadership. Many struggle to quantify their efforts, focusing only on easily measurable aspects rather than the broader impacts of their work. Building internal marketing strategies to communicate achievements is essential for demonstrating value. A deeper understanding of these dynamics can facilitate conversations with leadership about the true worth of marketing initiatives.
The Debate on Measurement
The ongoing conversation revolves around whether all marketing efforts can be measured accurately, with some participants suggesting that while many actions can be tracked, nuances often elude traditional metrics. Examples like organic social posts illustrate how difficult it is to trace the impact of less tangible marketing activities. The concept of marketing mix modeling provides a framework for understanding relationships between investments and outcomes, yet its effectiveness can be limited in B2B contexts with lower volumes of data. Ultimately, the challenge lies in balancing practical measurement with the understanding that not all marketing efforts lend themselves to straightforward quantification.
Experiments versus Expectations
Marketing leaders should conduct experiments to understand the effects of their initiatives on audience behavior, grappling with how the timing of these impacts can vary. It's important to align realistic expectations around how quickly marketing efforts will show results, especially in terms of events and sponsorships. Immediate results are often more visible when engaging in targeted promotions or activities like dinners but may take longer for broader initiatives. Understanding the typical timelines for results can help maintain trust and foster a collaborative environment with leadership.
Navigating Internal Conversations
Effective communication with leadership is essential for marketers seeking to implement new strategies and secure buy-in for budget allocation. By understanding the baseline performance metrics and discussing how current spending can generate growth, marketers can create a robust rationale for investment in new initiatives. This involves breaking down budget proposals into ongoing activities versus experimental investments. A candid discussion about risks, anticipated outcomes, and the rationale for concentrating investments can help build trust and clarity around marketing strategies.
Mark Huber (UserEvidence), Pranav Piyush (Paramark), Megan Boone (Redis), and Jason Widup (Fractional CMO) share their approaches for setting goals, measuring success, and getting leadership buy-in for strategies that aren’t always quantifiable. Find out how they strike the right balance between short-term wins and long-term growth.
What’s working in B2B marketing: TRUST YOUR JUDGMENT, NOT JUST THE NUMBERS Not every successful tactic can be neatly measured. Combining data with sound judgment builds the confidence needed for leadership buy-in.
What’s not working in B2B marketing: OVER-RELIANCE ON METRICS Focusing too much on data can miss the bigger picture. Not every effective strategy shows immediate returns, but building trust with leadership allows room for tactics that take longer to pay off.
The key takeaways: 1. Internal communication goes beyond sharing wins: It’s not just about delivering visible results. Consistent updates ensure leadership understands the marketing team’s ongoing efforts, even when the impact isn’t immediately obvious. 2. Growth isn’t just about the numbers: A successful strategy balances measurable goals with flexible initiatives. Both are needed to drive short-term gains and long-term progress. 3. Trust starts with early wins: Securing quick, measurable outcomes helps build the trust needed to pursue larger, more ambitious strategies that take longer to pay off. 4. Go beyond attribution with modeling: Attribution is important, but it’s not the only way to measure success. Modeling helps capture broader trends and gives a clearer picture of performance. 5. Set expectations early: This is more than hitting targets. Establishing realistic, achievable goals allows you to exceed targets and foster stronger relationships with leadership.
The things to listen for (00:00) Intro (01:17) The challenge of proving marketing’s impact (02:25) Setting measurable goals vs. trusting your instincts (05:49) Why internal marketing builds leadership trust (09:33) Can everything be measured? (13:27) Using event marketing to drive pipeline (17:28) Balancing data-driven decisions with intuition (22:58) How small wins build momentum for your team (29:03) Modeling success versus focusing on measurement (36:24) Biggest mistakes and advice for new marketing leaders
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