Kineo Australia

Do more with less… it’s time for Innovation…

I’ve recently stumbled upon this great great article by Kenneth Hein. What I found amazing about it is that finally this means that marketers are in search for a New Marketing Mix, that looks to innovation as a core aspect.

CMOs Pressured To Show ROI
By Kenneth Hein

Some CMOs are feeling awfully paranoid these days. With good reason, a number of recent studies show that marketers’ spending choices are coming under far greater examination as the economic vise tightens.

[...] The greatest pressure being applied is the demand to show return on investment. However, many are struggling to do so, finding the ROI process complex, per The Conference Board’s Research Working Group on Measuring and Managing Return on Marketing Investment report which surveyed 73 companies.

[...]“Increasingly, it is important for marketers to be able to justify their expenses,” said Peter Sargent, vp, Jupiter Research. “We need to get smarter as a community as we assess just how effective our brand messaging is.”

So how are marketers adapting? Sixty-four percent of CMO Council respondents said they were evaluating all areas of marketing spend to increase yield and accountability. This includes: Leveraging existing resources within their organizations to enhance customer communications (47.3 percent), exploring customized communications technologies (40.9 percent), moving more investment to Internet and mobile channels (38.7 percent) and driving adoption and the use of CRM and sales automation applications (31.5 percent).

[...]Despite years of conversation about ROI, the tactic of actually measuring marketing investments is still in its infancy, per the Conference Board. Thirty-seven percent of respondents claim to have been tracking ROI for less than a year. Less than a quarter have been doing it for more than three years. One third doesn’t bother at all.

Among the reasons marketers have been slow to adopt ROI tactics: problems with data and integrity (47 percent), lack of technology (41 percent) and resource dedication (39 percent), per the Conference Board.

Things could accelerate quickly, said Neale-May. “The mandate is to do more with less,” he said. “Part of that is using new strategies and techniques to make sure money isn’t left on the table.”