Are you using marketing data, metrics and analytics to measure marketing’s value, inform business decisions, improve marketing performance and forecast trends?

I was on a call recently with my friend Laura Patterson of VisionEdge Marketing. Laura consults with top companies on marketing performance, measurement and metrics. Each year, Laura partners with ITSMA, a research-based membership organization that works with the world’s leading professional services, technology and communications providers, to do a research survey on Marketing Performance Management (MPM). This is the 13th year of the MPM survey. If you haven’t already seen or responded to this survey, I am going to ask your patience to read on.

Last year, 500 marketing professionals participated. The study discovered that just forty percent of marketers believe that measuring marketing’s value and contribution to the business is very important or critical. And, only a handful of senior marketing executives reported that they rely on marketing data to make business decisions. The reason for this seeming disconnect was revealed in the research. Fewer than ten percent of marketing respondents were extremely confident that they knew which metrics and outcomes their key stakeholders cared about. Most of the respondents admitted that what they reported to their CEOs was related to marketing activities and not to marketing outcomes.

On a positive note, the study showed that successful marketers share important traits. Successful marketers speak the language of the business. They don’t try to impress top management with their command of the latest marketing jargon. They understand how the business leaders evaluate marketing effectiveness. They impress their management by demonstrating how marketing activities are connected to business results that meet the objectives of the organization.