Understanding A Marketing Campaign's Success Goes Deeper Than The Easy Metrics

© Sergey Nivens/stock.adobe.com A brilliant idea

Over the past 30 years, marketers have developed several bad habits. We are used to living by indicators such as awareness, intention and memory; They were hard to measure, but they told us a lot. On the web, it is easy to determine the number of clicks, shares and engagements a website has. Unfortunately, these metrics represent a small portion of your campaign audience. What about everyone else?

The war against instant gratification

I think marketing hurts a lot of people's desire for instant gratification. Brands investing millions in online marketing looking for instant results will only add to this gradual decline. The Internet has become one of the most popular and valuable indicators of marketing success tied to online activity, which is understandable. Marketing campaigns are easier to view through this narrow lens, and the hard data generated by online activity is comforting for managers. But these metrics only tell part of the story.

Before online statistics, campaign performance could only be measured by revenue and market research. While these metrics are still being tracked, I think marketers need to learn more about what this market research tracks: awareness, intent, and recall.

Remember the intimate connections with consciousness. When asked about a specific product category, such as airlines, a person will name the top three that come to mind. The goal of a recall ad campaign will be to ensure that your brand is on people's lists.

Intent is a marketing metric that measures how likely a person is to buy a product or endorse a brand. It goes beyond simply influencing the consumer of your product – your advertising campaign aims to produce physical results in the form of increased revenue.

Measurement of these indicators is more expensive and time-consuming and must be considered in the long term. This can cause problems as consumers are constantly bombarded with advertisements wherever they go and are used to instant gratification. Similarly, I have seen that modern companies that spend millions on marketing expect immediate results.

Marketers are in a dilemma, so they can easily collect on passive metrics like clicks or page views. But this approach may cause problems in the future. I think it's about finding a balance in website metrics that won't put you in financial trouble for six months. Your campaign should pay off now, fast and later.

Money now, money early, money later

An effective way to determine the effectiveness of a campaign is to know when it will generate revenue. Many traders are currently focusing on the money now model. If your car breaks down, you need money to fix it now. Similarly, marketers often measure success by how much money they make in the short term. It's time to expand your timeline.

"Money coming soon" is money you set aside for next year's vacation, for example. Marketers can see how effective an ad campaign is a few quarters or even a year after it ends. A marketing campaign that has significant impact, measured by metrics like awareness or recall, must produce results.

"Money after" is the money you save for a down payment on a home or retirement. Meaning can be seen in later advertising campaigns, such as when McDonald's featured the "I Love It" jingle (can you believe it's been almost 20 years?). Even now, when my son mentions that he wants a burger, I definitely think of McDonald's. The company has built a solid foundation through successful marketing campaigns in the past and the current campaigns are helping to cement it in a world where opportunities are ever increasing.

Achieving a long-term vision

See short-term statistics. This information is important because it allows marketers to be agile and flexible and ensures companies that their marketing spend is well spent. But that shouldn't be your only goal. Balance the short, medium and long term so you know your marketing campaigns will be sustainable.

I think it is the best measure of value. Are you going to get your money back through this campaign? Does it bring the best results for your business? You can answer this question by measuring soft metrics like awareness, recall or intent. Yes, they can be more difficult to measure. You need to conduct surveys and actively engage consumers. Don't be afraid to look at this information. Don't be afraid to have a long argument, just because it's difficult or might give you an uncomfortable answer.

Believe it or not, not everyone is online. Many people get product recommendations from family or through casual conversations at work. Measuring this interaction by today's standards is a lot of work. Marketing is not a sprint or a marathon. It's a bit of both, and by using metrics that measure both short-term and long-term impact, you can be sure you're making the biggest impact.

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