Marketing Still Adjusting to New ROI Models

Andy Beal’s Marketing Pilgrim this week covered an Insights report from Forbes (free registration required) showing that top level marketers are still stumbling towards implementing the new marketing paradigm: customer acquisition. (Read the MP article here.)

Maybe you’re surprised that customer acquisition as a marketing goal is something new. A more complete explanation based on the Forbes report might be that the stringent measurement of short term acquisition and buying activity is currently a top metric for judging marketing program success. More than brand recognition, more than brand communication and outreach, more than profit, sustaining customer activity and increasing incoming customers are the measures that matter.

At least that is the reported state of affairs from the responses to Forbes’s interviewers. Customer retention and customer acquisiton are more important to the marketers than profitability or branding. The methods for achieving these goals are mostly online, too, as the largest spending increases are forecast for online media, social media and mobile media efforts. The vague categories of retention and acquisition also rank in the top five for spending increases, but there is scant discerment of what constitute these.

Further, the two top challenges identified have to do with understanding the interaction of strategies. The bewilderment of marketers is a chief obstacle to improving the focus and effectiveness of marketing. I wish I could say I do not belong in this crowd, but mea culpa, for sure.

How are you seeking to clear your mind and focus on understanding the retention and acquisition effects your marketing strategies? Have you any insight for me or the rest of us?