Marketing ROI: Art or Science

Example 1
CEO challenge: Sustained and steady top-line growth
Marketing objective: Customer acquisition
Measurable outcome: Captured 100,000 incremental households in a database in three months, which resulted in 10,000 new sales for product X.

Example 2
CEO challenge: Profit growth
Marketing objective: Cross-sell and upsell to existing customers
Measurable outcome: Average order value increased 10 percent in six months with an in-store promotion. Product mix on items sold increased profitability by 2 percent during the promotional period.

Example 3
CEO challenge: Customer loyalty/retention
Marketing objective: Reduce customer defections
Measurable outcome: Loyalty program put in place reduced attrition rate by 5 percent in one year.

Crafting Your Overall Plan
After each marketing objective has been established and validated by your executives, identify what are the clear tactics that can help you achieve those objectives, and how will you measure them. It may also be worthwhile to refine your marketing objectives for specific campaigns, since not all programs may serve all objectives of your overall marketing plan.

For example, if you're trying to increase sales by $1 million within a certain product line or category in the next year, it may be helpful to define which customer segments would provide the best opportunity for that type of increase. Then build a series of campaigns that target them in particular.

Building a calendar of promotional activities and mapping those activities against your target audiences is a smart way to quickly determine the best time to promote your products or services in ways that provide the greatest relevance and impact. Ultimately, your plans should be built around the greatest opportunity for return from each focused campaign.

Choosing the right marketing partners is an important part of your overall marketing strategy. Your partners should be able to speak intelligently to your objectives, and understand and be able to deliver on your requirements for measurability. They should also be able to support your campaigns across a broad array of marketing channels, with suggestions that can improve your return.