White socks are great. They go with everything, wear forever, and are excellent value for the price. And for those who love this argument, you can't measure ROI.


On the downside, white socks are vanilla to the bosses and not always welcome in the Board Room. Furthermore, they represent discretionary spending and if ROI can't be measured, why would I want them in my dresser drawers?
And there you have it--the classic argument. You can't live with them, but you don't want to live without them. Marketing is a lot like white socks. It shouldn't be.
While marketing goes with everything a business creates and never wears out, have we convinced those who matter most--CEOs, CFOs and our clients that marketing is an excellent value for the price? In these times of economic downturn, we must do a better job of marketing marketing. But how?
Let's begin by ending the argument regarding ROI. When we say we can't measure it, we sound like whiners. Our bosses don't want to hear it and we will never convince them that marketing efforts can't be measured in terms of a return on investment as measured in dollars. Besides, we're making the wrong argument. The issue isn't about social media, social networking, direct marketing, public relations or advertising. Those are tools, and we don't measure ROI against the success of a tool.
Instead, we present ROI based on the success of quarterly and annual results, using a variety of tools measured against the objective and the goals. In other words, if we are charged with launching a product, we will use a variety of tools. The objective might be something about getting the right people to notice the new product and to get that product in the right places. But one of the goals must measure sales. And by working with sales and customer service and retail in this example, the marketing effort can take credit for creating most of the initial sales of the product. The smart marketer, working closely with the other departments, will create a formula that represents each functional area's cost as compared to revenues. Voila! ROI. Is it correct to the penny? No. But ROI almost never is and our bosses won't care as long as we speak with one voice.
Furthermore, we should develop case studies for every campaign, project and objective in which marketing plays a role. Some of it will be anecdotal; much of it needs to be fact based. And that means putting realistic metrics in place. As we produce those case studies, we get them into the hands of everyone who matters. I bet that soon marketing will not be seen as discretionary spending.
Finally, when we are called upon to share marketing success, stop talking in acronyms, jargon and generalities. When we do so, the others around the table hear blah, blah, blah. Be specific. What did we do and how did it work? The what is a few sentences about the audiences we reached, not the tools we used, and the how is ROI in sales revenue or growth as a percentage of total customers.
One more thing: Since many of us are consultants and our first job is to grow our own business, when we reach out to potential clients the board room suggestion is relevant here as well: Share why clients hire us by using specific examples focused on the what we did and the how it worked.
Obviously, this is top line stuff here and not meant to detail a plan. But as advice, it works. I've seen it and I've personally experienced it. Forget discussing tools; those in charge don't care how we do what we do. Discuss results. That's what they care about. Oh, and as for the white socks--only wear them around the house or at sporting events and accept the fact that they don't impress.