Marketing of any kind requires that we measure results. That’s nothing new. In current times measuring the results of marketing activities is not an option. If it can’t be measured, don’t do it is what many CEOs mandate, and well they should.
The true cost of most marketing activities is the cost per (fill in the blank). In most B2B scenarios the measurement is the cost-per-lead.
What marketing activities do you measure that can be attributed to lead generation? In outbound marketing we measure tactics such as the cost of trade show leads, advertising leads and cold call leads. In inbound marketing, aka Internet marketing, we measure cost per lead.
Sometimes we read data that supports the obvious and we say “duh” I knew that! No matter how compelling the data we react as if we already knew that. Here’s some recent data worth digesting:
- Companies that spend more money and effort on inbound marketing experience a lower cost per lead.
- Advertising in social networks is on the decline but engaging in social networks is on the rise.
- Webinars produce good leads when created and managed well.
- Sixty-three of Internet users worldwide use search engines to look for products and services.
- Most popular marketing tactics in 2009 are: web, mobile, viral, SEO, word-of-mouth according to an advertising agency execs recent survey.
Marketing tactics must be measurable. It’s been argued that social media marketing is difficult to measure. I argue that if you look at your marketing on the web as just that, marketing on the web, you can identify metrics that satisfies the CEO. The granularity of some metrics is not as important as the bottom line. What does it cost to produce a lead from the web, from a trade show, from a cold call, from an advertisement?
When managing marketing budgets in a tight economy you must focus on the marketing activities that produce results you can measure. You need marketing software, analytics software and a close eye.
Bernie Borges
@berniebay
