Marketing in technology markets has become increasingly focused on measurable outcomes. As Marketing execution becomes more and more digital, Marketers are benchmarking email opens, clicks, conversions to leads and so on. But these are merely Marketing metrics – the rubber hits the road where Marketing hands over to Sales and we begin to monetise (to use a modish word) our investment in Marketing.
Credible Measurement
In short, Marketing needs to prove the Return On Investment (ROI) – sooner rather than later. The closer Marketing metrics are to the money end of the business, the better for the credibility of Marketing. And these are metrics that are primarily influenced by Sales: e.g. lead to opportunity conversion ratios; rate of opportunity leakage from marketing-driven leads; average value of orders derived from marketing leads and so on.
For complex sales cycles, these metrics also help Marketing to determine what tactics work most effectively to nurture sales opportunities and help move them through the pipeline. Events and ROI calculators may be appropriate tactics later in the sales cycle to overcome objections and help drive prospect engagement.