"Are you measuring marketing effectiveness?"

Marketing--more science than art.

"Half my advertising is wasted; I just don't know which half." - Joseph Wanamaker

If you haven't noticed, marketing is swiftly transforming through the technical advancements in communication mediums. Measurement is continuing to make a major impact in how marketers affirm success, or admit failure. Additionally, marketing departments have been squeezed to defend budgets and establish clarity as to what value they bring to the company--and measurement holds the key to some of the answers to these challenges.

Mark Carr, partner at CMG Partners states in a recent Marketing Management article, "Advancements in measurement techniques, CRM, database systems and marketing analytics, not to mention the advent of the Internet and all of its tracking capabilities--have dramatically improved the ability to measure marketing effectiveness or ROI." All the answers are in the detail, but the volume of information can be overwhelming and cumbersome. So we ask ourselves: what is a marketer to do?

Here are steps marketers are taking to advance with the times, and measure their worth:

• New media tools--tracking your efforts!
  Marketers are reassessing what marketing vehicles they focus their budgets on, and the tools that provide tracking capabilities and marketing analytics are gaining attention.
• Alignment--top to bottom!
  Marketers are aligning marketing activities to the overall business objectives of their company. Mapping strategic objectives down to key marketing performance measures will link marketing activities with business success indicators.
• Alignment--side-to-side! Marketers are aligning performance measurements and results with other functions of the company, including finance, operations, new product development, sales and, of course, customer service.
• Partner up--and take action!
  Marketers are partnering with outside marketing specialists to gain deeper insights into their existing data and results. The goal is to distill and synthesize the information, so marketing activities can be adjusted and budgets reallocated as necessary. As companies partner with outside specialists, they acquire the necessary skills and strategies for enhancing their future marketing strategies.

 As measurement continues to develop as a key component of marketing, companies will continue to enhance and integrate the results with all functions of the business. Companies that measure and adjust to the market will be more responsive and flex to the needs of their customers. As you measure your efforts and state your worth, consider alternative solutions and outside specialists to help you gain knowledge and maintain flexibility.

"Great wisdom not applied to action and behavior is meaningless data." - Peter Drucker