Consumers don’t behave like they used to. There are more options – media, product, entertainment – and less time than ever. And new technology has allowed consumers to control the way brands have historically communicated with them (think TiVo, XM Radio, the Internet and others). It’s a different ball game, and companies need a navigation system for the future.
Today’s marketing resources must compete harder than ever for their justification and are asked to be accountable for the highest ROI possible. Gone are the days when all that was required for marketing budget approval was last year's budget, superficial metrics, next year's sales projections, and a subjective judgment about what worked, and what might work better in the future.
No manager would dare commit millions of dollars of capital to a project without an analysis of its payback, net present value, and internal rate of return. How can companies that invest millions of dollars in marketing efforts – including product innovation, branding, advertising, direct marketing, CRM, promotion, incentives – remain competitive in the market without a detailed understanding of the interaction and performance of past marketing investments, or the dynamics of forecasting marketing success? Simply put, they can’t. |
