BearingPoint Finland blog
Stanford scientist Roy Amara is reputed to have said, “We overestimate the impact of technology in the short-term and underestimate the effect in the long run.” The drastic change in purchasing processes of both consumers and commercial organizations during the last years forms a textbook example of this phenomenon. Much of the purchasing process is happening online – a fact which all B2B companies must get used to as well.
While being somewhat resistant against online shopping in the past, the furniture giant IKEA was ultimately forced to accept changes in the buying behaviors in the middle of the pandemic. After 70 successful years, IKEA informed to turn the page and discontinue the publication of its printed catalog. That marked the end of iconic publication, which was distributed in 200 million copies, in 69 different versions, 32 languages and to more than 50 markets at its peak year making it more broadly distributed than the Bible or the Quran.
I bet there were very few people forecasting the sudden death of the IKEA Catalogue few years back – and for sure even less within IKEA itself. Considering this is the reality for IKEA, how many other companies, especially in B2B environment, should be ready to face the same forces soon?
In the end, this change fundamentally alters the relationship between companies and their customers and requires companies to expand their marketing efforts from brand awareness activities to proactive lead generation and online presence. Thus, highlighting the importance of digital marketing capabilities and campaigns.
The growing role of digital marketing has been noticed by company executives. In fact, according to Gartner’s study, 70% of CEOs were already expecting CMOs to lead revenue growth in 2020. As a result, marketing teams are increasingly challenged on the business impact of their activities.
The pressure to put the performance measurement under control is especially prevalent when it comes to marketing campaigns which constitute, on average, 65% of marketing budgets. Nevertheless, 71% of CMOs consider their company is not mature enough to measure digital marketing performance.
To address this need, BearingPoint conducted a study with marketing professionals on measuring and optimizing the performance of digital marketing and released a white paper about the results recently.
Key takeaways from this study were the following:
Data remains as the main challenge for successful performance measurement
Companies need to take the data under control for a more reliable and precise measurement of the marketing campaigns performance. This refers not only to the collection of data but also ensuring co-operation between all teams involved in the campaign lifecycle and investing in relevant skills, architecture, and technology to ensure a clean, centralized and (near) real-time utilization of data.
Too many unaligned indicators constitute the second pain point for 62% of marketing professionals
KPIs should be few and align with your strategy around 4 main families: financial, client, operational and technical indicators. Digital marketing metrics should also capture both the short-term campaign cycle and effectiveness as well as long-term customer lifetime value. This ensures that teams and management have a clear view on the efficiency from start to finish.
Closing the gap in performance measurement requires companies to think big and start small
Agile methodologies and the test & learn approach allow to continuously adapt and adjust the operational and strategic dimensions of digital marketing performance. This requires companies to build a team dedicated to the optimization of both the execution and effectiveness of marketing activities.
There is no one size fits all approach for marketing performance measurement
Due to the specificity of each organization and their maturity, the way forward to fully measure the performance of digital marketing is not the same. In addition to data and the technological aspects, organizations need to set up the processes and governance that allows to involve all relevant teams.
Contact
Due to the growing importance of digital marketing capabilities, companies are developing their online presence to provide a seamless process to the customer from awareness creation to purchase decisions. Understanding and unlocking the value of modern digital marketing is crucial for the continuing profitability and viability of their businesses. Contact BearingPoint today to learn how your business can further accelerate digital marketing initiatives and benefits.
Jani Rautiainen
Manager, Digital & Strategy
BearingPoint Finland
