Marketing performance > Marketing cost efficiency, Managing marketing suppliers, Insourcing and outsourcing

Marketing can be expensive because whenever you buy creativity and knowledge, you get what you pay for.  Plus marketing is full of professional specialisms from media buying to art buying; from data analytics to search engine optimisation.  So it’s good to find benchmarks to measure your own spending up against.  And it’s good to know how other brands have grappled with the challenges of measuring what you’re getting for your money.

Too much marketing costs too much and returns too little – but it’s possible to measure something about almost all of the marketing activities you’re running.  Plus it’s usually possible to find comparisons with other brands or even with your competitors.  A healthy obsession with measurement can shine a spotlight on what’s working and on what’s not working.

From ROIs of as little as 3:1 right up to heavyweight activity, often through digital media, returning 40:1 or more, you can audit how you’re operating today, and find opportunities to improve in the future.

Plus if you want to go further, you can build a detailed definition of the scope of work you want from your agencies and suppliers, complete with key performance indicators (KPIs) service level standards, targets and reviews.  An informal but structured annual appraisal process makes sure of a sharp focus on your business performance.  Good for you, good for your agencies and suppliers and good business.

Click here to read a case study in improvement in marketing efficiency.