Why Good Marketing Metrics Can Still Get You Fired
In an ever-increasing world of messy attribution – thanks to privacy law changes, differing platform conversion tracking methods, new sources emerging like AI, and even just continuing to deal with Google Analytics 4 – digital marketing and search key performance indicators (KPIs) can be tough to stand behind or have a lot of confidence in.
Why Good Marketing Metrics Can Still Get You Fired
I’ve seen firsthand how things can go sideways when we can’t connect the dots between dollars spent and dollars earned. I’m going to unpack several aspects of marketing versus business goals to help shed some light on how to get the best of both and get things in alignment.
The KPI-ROI Disconnect
Starting "at the end" is a recommended approach for getting as deep into business metrics and mapping things out as possible. Understanding the complete picture of how your organization (or client) makes money is key. Even in non-profits, this applies. If you can get to the ultimate business metric that defines performance and success for your organization, then you have the opportunity to work backward from that to connect it to marketing based on the metrics along the way.
Bridging The Gap
Marketing and business teams need to align to ensure shared success. At this point, if any of these points or scenarios resonate with you, you might wonder, "How did we even get here?" That’s a question I’ve encountered personally and one I’ve helped coach through during my career. When there’s a gap or disconnect somewhere, it can often be traced back to one of these reasons:
- We didn’t start with a defined strategy and planning process.
- We didn’t loop stakeholders in the strategy/plan.
- We didn’t get new or changing stakeholders up to speed on digital marketing/search marketing strategies and plans.
- We inherited the ecosystem or plan.
- We didn’t challenge changes in expectations along the way.
- We encountered changes in tech (reporting, attribution, customer relationship management (CRM)) and didn’t adapt.
- We have too much on our plate already and not enough time.
- We don’t know how to navigate politics or the workings of the C-suite and other functions.
Address The Gap Before It Hurts The Business
No matter the size or structure of a business or organization, gaps between digital marketing KPIs and business outcomes seem inevitable. In some cases, things map out easily with just a little extra effort going beyond the digital marketing department or function – whether internal or as an external partner. Regardless, getting fired or losing a contract over a KPI-business gap is extreme – the real risk and outcome we don’t want.
Conclusion
Recognizing gaps, addressing them, working as a team to link things up, and staying on the same page leads to respect, predictability, and a mindset shift – one where digital marketing is seen as an investment instead of an expense.