In the first three posts of this series, we discussed what it takes for a marketing excellence program to have a sustained impact on an organization. It must have various interlocking components, each designed to address different challenges in getting rapid results while delivering long-term change. Those components are: Design, Implementation, Inspiration, and Measurement. Having already addressed Design, Implementation and Inspiration - in this final post of the series - we will discuss the metrics used to evaluate the progress of a marketing excellence program.
Evaluating a Marketing Excellence Program
We believe that the way to assess a marketing excellence program has to be firmly grounded in the impact it has on customers (isn’t that what marketing is all about!) and consequently on the financial health of the business that serves those customers. From this perspective, there are two key components of evaluating a marketing excellence program ― Metrics and Culture.
- Marketing Performance Metrics- The right set of metrics can help the program track progress and identify issues. Metrics are usually identified both for the program as well as for individual projects within them. The program metrics focus on the net impact that the program is having on the organization. This usually includes metrics related to financial impact, market position, customer engagement/loyalty, customer attitudes, marketing efficiency, and organizational culture change. The project-specific metrics are a sub-set that focus on the impact that the project has on the results of the SBU/Region. The following is an example of the set of metrics we’ve used to evaluate the results of a marketing excellence program:
- Culture- An important component of evaluation is the degree to which customer-centricity and marketing excellence becomes a part of the company’s culture. After the initial efforts, the program has to become self-sustaining. As the training wheels come off, the organization needs to have sufficient skills and will to continue implementing the marketing framework. When it truly becomes “the way” of going to market, the program would be close to achieving its vision and goals.
Most organizations implementing a marketing excellence program have to realize that it is a long-term transformational effort. However that does not mean that it has to take years for the organization to enjoy the benefits of such a program. Therefore, one of our guiding principles is, “Be impatient for business results while being patient for long-term behavior change.”
Essentially this means that marketing excellence programs have to focus on proving their worth quickly, even if it is only in one small part of the organization. These early results can then be used to market the program and build momentum, and the case for change, throughout the organization.
