BENCHMARKING
SUCCESS IN MARKETING STARTS WITH HAVING CLEAR OBJECTIVES
BY : ANDY BUYTING
L
Like anything in business , if you want to have success , you need to start with the end goal in mind . It ’ s true when it comes to anything in life and in business , and it ’ s especially true with respect to outcomes that are important for your company to achieve .
We are asked all the time , “ What should I measure in marketing ? What should I measure to ensure that we are successful in our marketing and in our sales ?” My approach is if you want to achieve something , you need to have a very clear vision of where you want to go . You need to have objectives to work towards , because you want to take your company from where you are now to a specific place in the future . Be explicit in what that looks like . You can ’ t be ambiguous .
When you set clear expectations for your business with your team , there are a few rules of thumb to follow . You want them to be able to define what success looks like . At the end of your quarter , year , or whatever the time frame might be , there should be no ambiguity as to whether you were successful or not .
In business , when you think about tracking metrics , there are two types of metrics that you should be tracking . There ’ s
“ leading ” metrics and “ lagging ” metrics . I ’ ll explain the difference .
To drive down a back country road successfully , you need to have your front windshield clear because you need to know where you ’ re going . You need to know where the next turn is and if there are obstacles to overcome . You need to know when you can go fast and when you should go slow . That ’ s the front windshield and those are your leading metrics . That ’ s looking at things ahead , looking at things that you can react to and have an influence on .
There are also lagging metrics , which are like what you see in your rearview mirror . Lagging metrics are things that have already happened . It ’ s the part of the road that you ’ ve already driven on . You can ’ t change whether you ’ ve driven on that road successfully or not because it happened in the past . If all you ’ re looking at is lagging metrics without the leading metrics , it ’ s like driving down the road with your windshield blocked out . You can keep an eye on the rearview mirror to make sure that you ’ re still on the road , but you can ’ t see what ’ s coming around the next corner . You can ’ t even see the next corner , for that matter .
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