Marketing can sometimes seem like an intangible thing with no real direct link to provable ROI. What is the connection between liking a post on Facebook, seeing a billboard on the street, reading an article on the blog, and a return for the business?

From the desk of the CFO this month, we discuss the dangerous allure of vanity metrics, how to join the dots in marketing, and how to present results to the board.

 

Try not to get sucked in by vanity metrics

Too often marketers become intoxicated by the lure of vanity metrics – social media likes and follows being a prime suspect. But, these can be a distraction from real results.

What is a vanity metric? Vanity metrics make you feel good, and make your campaigns look like they’re performing well. But, they may not actually tell you if the business is getting a return for its investment. Often they are not actionable, meaning you can’t derive any real business insight from them. They’re basically for show.

That said, vanity metrics aren’t worthless. You must use them correctly for them to become actionable results, not just vanity metrics for vanity’s sake. They’re part of a wider whole – and that whole must lead back to ROI.

 

So how do you turn intangible marketing results into ROI?

In order to better understand marketing activities and their impact on the wider business, you must be able to connect all of your activities together into a single picture – a customer journey. 

By plotting out the customer journey (or journeys, as the case may be), you can see how higher-level activities nurture customers through to lower-level activities, which then drive results (i.e. sales). For example, people don’t typically buy a product after learning about a business for the first time, but seeing an intriguing ad can encourage them to research further and, as a result, hit more touch points on their journey which eventually leads to a purchase.

Use customer journey maps to plot out marketing activities, plan more detailed top-to-bottom-funnel strategies, and hunt for inefficiencies, blockages and bottlenecks preventing customers from progressing.

 

Measuring the customer journey with real data

To turn that correlation into causation one needs usable data – and this is where people-based measurement comes in.

While the customer journey may include a variety of touchpoints, not all of which are digital, it’s still possible to track a person across a wide cross-section of the marketing experience. And the more you learn about a person and their journey, the more you will be able to connect intangible activities to tangible ROI.

People-based measurement allows organisations to measure results constantly, often in real time. It creates a broad omnichannel view with data being collected into a central analytics dashboard, removing silos and enabling analysts to cross-reference one platform’s results with another. Persistent user IDs then enable those analysts to track someone across the touchpoints covered by this dashboard, which often yields fascinating insight into how customers use certain services (i.e. an app, or website).

Learn more: “What does omnichannel marketing actually … look like?”

This also allows for greater personalisation. While that may not be related to our topic today, it’s important to note that it’s a fabulous side benefit – more knowledge of a user’s individual journey allows greater personalising of their future experiences, whether that’s on the blog, in their email inbox or on a sales call.

 

Presenting non-tangible marketing as ROI to the board

The final stage is presenting these results to key stakeholders, such as senior leaders and the board.

Were you to just present a graph showing Facebook likes going up, and a general interpretation of a brand awareness campaign as having ‘gone well’, this may not generate the excitement you’re hoping for.

But, with customer journey maps and people-based measurement you’re able to connect those links together and show, in detail, how one activity impacts another. This should help you present a better report to the people that need to see it.

A note to remember: Take the marketing jargon out of the presentation unless you’re talking to other marketers. Board members tend to be exceedingly well versed in business and financials, but possibly less so digital marketing technology. That’s your job, not theirs. Consider what information each person you’re presenting to will actually care about – as you would any marketing audience. Focus on business problems, customer figures and financial data, and this will likely help get your point across.