“Yes,” I agreed, “it is getting easier to measure marketing
performance. We can thank the web for some of that but not all.”

“What do you mean?” asked Jim. 

“The problem is always the same,” I said. “Nothing matters
until you have a sale and if there is a sales person involved they believe they
should get most of the credit.”

Kate who has been known to make a cold call or two put down
her wine glass drilled me with steely eyes over her glasses said, “Humph” and
went back to her salad.

Jim glanced at me, then her and asked, “Did you have a
comment Kate?”

“Yes,” she sniffed, “This may be a little radical but before
you jump on me listen carefully.

Nothing matters but the sale. Nothing.

Forget
all the credit for this or that.

Nothing matters but the sale. The reason is the
sale is when everything all of us do pays off. Yes, marketing gets leads. But
what about the guys and gals that developed the product and the purchasing agents
that got the needed supplies and the teams that put it together? Or if you
operate in retail the buyers that decided what stuff to buy and the people that
figured out the displays and everybody that had a hand in that item being in
front of the customer?

None of us do this alone. No one of us or one department or
team should get all the credit. The sale is the result of all of us doing our
jobs. The sales are how we all keep track of how well we’re doing.

Are there other metrics we should keep track of? Yes. But
start with the ones that customers care about. Trust Matters. Did you deliver
on time? Did you provide a positive experience? Did you listen? Did you give
them the information they wanted and needed when it would be most useful? Did
you care?

You want marketing metrics? Concentrate on the ones that
help you improve things for customers and clients. Find ways to get more people
to visit the web site because if helps them. Test to get better click through
rates because they understand exactly what they are buying. If they prefer to
buy by phone, make it easy for them. And then help me figure out what they want
to hear on the other end of the line.

But don’t talk to me about singular credits for sales. I don’t
want the credit alone.

Neither should you. The successful companies know that they
are all in it together and any improvement, even a tiny one in their area, can
make the bottom line better and that is the real metric that is important…the
revenue and profit scorecards.”

She took a sip of wine and asked, “Any questions?”

Jerry Fletcher just reports the luncheon conversations but this is one he totally agrees with including putting metrics to the marketing Visit: www.JerryFletcher.com

Check out his new Speaking Site at www.NetworkingNinja.com