The Difference Between ROI & Marketing Accountability
By Brian Carroll
Expert Author
Article Date: 2007-05-14
What's the difference difference between ROI and marketing accountability?
My recent blog post, "On B2B Demand Generation tools and Lead Generation Dashboards" started an email exchange between me Jeffrey Eisenberg and then spawned an article by Bryan Eisenberg over at ClickZ.
He writes, "Measuring the ROI of lead generation isn't the same thing as full accountability. If marketing is a profitable activity, it still doesn't mean that what it is communicating to the universe of buyers is building the business. I've seen lots of marketers sacrifice early and middle stage buyers because they had to show an immediate ROI on each campaign they ran. Who is accountable for all the potential business they lose by saying the wrong the thing to the right people at the wrong time?"
I agree with Jeffrey. I think our "instant gratification" culture is the main culprit. We're a "Fast Food Nation," after all.
For example, most CEOs feel that they aren't getting enough activity at the top of the sales funnel.
Marketers are constantly reminded that more leads are needed...now!
So here's the challenge that most marketers face...they want to think long term but keep getting sucked in by the more immediate and pressing issue of a not having enough high quality sales leads.
We all want our ROI, and we want it now! So who's to blame?
The CEOs who cower to the will of their investors, boards, analysts and media?
The investors who applaud short-term returns in their portfolio?
The analysts who predict the future success of a company and then punish them for falling short?
The media who criticize leaders for thinking long-term?
In addition, we can't ignore research showing the average tenure of a CEO is six years. But for a marketing leader, it's less than 24 months.
So I think fear plays a role, too.
Continue reading at ClickZ:The Difference Between ROI and Marketing Accountability.
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About the Author:
Brian Carroll is the CEO of InTouch Inc. InTouch is a 50-person company focused on delivering effective lead generation solutions for "the complex sale."
Brian authors the very interesting B2B Lead Generation Blog which focuses on B2B lead generation, sales leads, and marketing for the complex sale.
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