CIM and Deloitte : "What's the point of measuring marketing if companies are not going to take decisions based on that insight?"

New research from The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and Deloitte finds that 49% of companies are not using customer or marketing measures to inform board level decision making.  Improving Marketing Effectiveness: leading practices in marketing accountability investigates how companies measure the performance of marketing and act upon the results. At the heart of the research is a quantitative benchmarking assessment of over 200 senior marketers and board level executives.

The survey found that companies are measuring a series of basic customer and marketing metrics effectively. Over 90% measure customer satisfaction, rate of acquisition and retention and most say they are doing so effectively (66%, 60% and 51% respectively). However, only half of companies believed their executives drive change as a result of marketing or customer measures; implying that marketing measures are not a core part of the decision making process for corporate investment.

Nick Turner, head of marketing effectiveness at Deloitte and one of the report authors, said: “Our research really begs the question: what’s the point of measuring marketing if companies are not going to take decisions based on that insight?  With half the organisations surveyed not using customer and marketing measures, Boards should ask themselves what really drives their decision making process before pointing the finger of accountability at the marketing department”.

Measuring the impact of marketing investment

Thomas Brown, head of insights at The Chartered Institute of Marketing added: “Measuring the impact of marketing investment is an investment in itself; it takes time, expertise and budget – all of which are in short supply. If half of businesses aren’t using what their metrics tell them to drive change, leaders should be asking ‘do we have the wrong metrics, or do we have an education imperative within the business?’. In many cases, it may be the latter – an area often overlooked.”

This study follows previous research into marketing effectiveness by both Deloitte and CIM that identified measurement as a common theme prevalent in companies struggling to articulate the role of marketing and its value in their organisation.

81% agreed that their organisation’s marketing strategy is aligned with their organisation’s overall corporate strategy. However, only 37% think their business strategy is clearly translated into marketing objectives. A lack of tangible aligned objectives is preventing clear accountability.

The report points to alignment of marketing and corporate strategy, definition of marketing accountability and the ‘right’ marketing measures – as opposed to the easiest - as the areas companies should focus on to achieve marketing effectiveness and realise true customer focus.

The study identified the typical behaviour of high performing companies, such as establishing clear performance indicators (KPIs) in marketing. It also identified the benefits of these practices, such as creating an appetite for change, understanding the value of marketing and perceiving a greater effectiveness in marketing.