According to Marketing fields, I asked myself about the different kinds of KPIs we can find to follow, mesure and value the real interest and performance of marketing. You think you know, obviously, the answer. Don’t get me wrong but, it’s another complicated matter in fact. Never ever asked you anyway? mesure the unmesurable, trying to catch the exact effects of the wide range of marketing, because no one has ever managed with it. Can we define particularly, the differents ways of involvement of marketing in business cases? Do we have words and figures to straightly say in a sentence, how report for marketing efficiency? I still search, by myself…
Overlooking all old rules, I found and tried a whole definition of what could be “marketing tricks”, to nowaday business ; correct me and let me know if you’re not OK with, but, first let me introduce you to these basic rules:
marketing, says one, could be “conception, settlements and control of any resource – social, technical, material, commercial, scientific…- in the aim of optimize the value for the customer in buying a good or a service, compared to the risk” ; we can underline this way 3 main ideas: marketing is time, marketing is value and marketing is risk.
So we have with these 3 steps in marketing KPIs follow-up:
- Marketing that gives value to customers, with quality, offer in aim of optimize customer satisfaction
- Marketing that minimize the risk for the customer to be disappointed in buying product or service – risk that can be collective by the viral effects -
- Marketing of time, time to be “just in time” and time-to-market wise, with innovation
According to the large responsabilities of marketing, we must now ask ourselves about “who is driven and targeted by these KPIs?” ; we already knows that it can’t be one people or departement, but a wide range of functions in corporation. There’s no less than marketing managers, CEO and general manager, but suppliers around : promotion, sales, delivering – supply chain -, and probably after sales: sales administration, call services and customer relationship management.
I can try to give out a piece of solution, with evaluation of performance monitoring, from different points of view:
- Obviously by customers themselves: is what I have is what I was supposed to, in the value offer of the firm?
- what may pay customer (price edge) for my product or service = value for renunciation?
- what is the difference between “perception of value” and “price”?
- mesure of misunderstanding / gap between “promise” and “received”?
- Performance, from marketing itself, in the added value they have in the value chain of the firm
- evaluation of ROI from “marketing and promotion expenses” and return on sales
- supply chain costs driven by large ranges, several selling channels, compared to necessary depth of the purpose
- contribution of marketing skills in value chain: know-how, know-when, know-with
- Performance, from general board, judging how the firm is understood outside by different leaders: press, customers, suppliers, partners, financials…
- market share
- positionning and changes evaluation effects
- benefits
- shares performance
- Social trace in social community: how is evaluated the effects of the firm’s products, on consuming behaviors?
- notoriety surveys
- social object
- laws and sustainable development framework: social, economics, green behavior
- rise of consumers satisfaction after consuming
Well I dare, but it’s anything like some tracks and thoughts about how we can handle with these matters. The way is long and unfortunately, there’s no really scientist approach, by the difficulty of each concept and define exact responsability in companies. But we know thing must be done, to give the good resources, where we need, and give up the rubbish ones. Companies are rarely endless financial resources, and they have to manage closer, to make shareholders, employees and banks, increasing partnership and trust. Having a strong KPIs board, adding marketing matters, can help this.
I would really be pleased to have some comments, adding advises, and maybe experiences, shared on follow-up. Let me know…
