set measurable objectives or fail

This may seem trivial but before any marketing effort is agreed upon you need to set clear, measurable objectives. Duh, right?

You would be surprised how often this is not done. Even if you are setting objectives for your marketing efforts most companies only set “soft” objectives which are less effective than efforts that are measured against “hard” objectives. (See evidence below from IPA study “Marketing in the Era of Accountability”)

Hard objectives are accountable and more often than not, focused on specific measurable data points.

·         Hard Objective = “Drive 10% profit growth in Q3”

·         Soft Objective = “Increase brand awareness”

But Steve you say, it’s impossible to measure directly something like Profit from a single marketing tactic.

Maybe. So then set “bread-crumb” soft objectives. What are the leading indicators to profit? Brand awareness? Reduction in price sensitivity? Market share? Share of advertising voice? Engagement? Retention rate?

Ok which of those leading indicators are more closely moved by your marketing effort? See where I’m going?

For games marketers, proving ROI on any non-UA effort is hard but with the bread crumb method; achievable. Without doing this your superiors will continue to be able to challenge your efforts efficacy.

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