Measuring Marketing Metrics.

[M.M. Hasan Parvez]

Business is a cyclical thing. There are times when things are on the upside, doing well and raking in the revenues. On the other hand, there are also times when things are down. Don?t expect air conditioners and coolers to be on the top of people?s ?to-buy? lists during the winter, or sales caused by Black Friday deals to happen all year-round. Marketing is much the same ? does anybody really expect marketing efforts for bikinis and swimming gear to be on the pick-up during the winter months?

Yet, somehow, even understanding this fact has not prevented people from trying to apply a flawed perspective on it. For some reason, the business world expects marketing efforts to not only have tangible results, but to have them consistently. People insist on an apples-to-apples comparison, neglecting the fact that markets change and shift ? forcing marketing to do the same. Sometimes, the changes aren?t big enough to cause a real difference, but other times, this is not the case.

The returns on the amount of money spend on advertising is something that can be looked at in a linear manner. This is measured in a percentage, so it adjusts itself relative to the amount spent on advertising. The returns show the efficiency of the campaign, rather than the actual sales numbers. This means that even if sales plummet for one reason or another, the returns should remain at a stable percentage. This means that comparing the returns on a linear basis is a good indicator of how healthy things are going.

The ?cycle? of business tends to vary in length, but for the most part, reading into things on a yearly basis is a good idea. This means that hard numbers need to be used, rather than percentages. This also allows for better analysis, since it tells companies when the sales are at their weakest. Knowing what time of year is their weakest allows them to adjust their marketing accordingly, even for a product that is seasonal in nature.

It should also be noted that the nature of marketing makes it hard to measure. Sometimes, it takes a long time before marketing makes an impact, so the effect it has on sales isn?t there, isn?t visible. This makes it important to find tangible metrics, things that analysts can put numbers to, even if they never truly reflect what kind of value or impact the marketing has on the overall success of the company.