The New Marketing KPIs

July 21, 2014

Executive Summary

Marketing accountability programs have taken on a much greater significance over the past several years, and have moved from the category of “nice to have” to “must have.” In fact, accountability has ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the ANA’s annual “Marketer’s Top Concerns Survey” for the past seven years. A key performance indicator (KPI) is how companies measure and evaluate the success of an activity. According to Marketing2020, the top three KPIs that best capture marketing effectiveness are ROI, revenue growth, and consumer engagement.

Appropriately, the majority of marketers feel confident that the top three KPIs are rising:

Compared to three years ago, 46 percent of marketers surveyed believe that ROI has increased, 45 percent believe it has remained the same, while nine percent believe it has decreased.
Fifty-one percent believe that revenue growth has increased, 30 percent believe it has remained on par, and 18 percent believe it has decreased.
Sixty-one percent feel that consumer engagement has grown, 29 believe it has stayed the same, and only six percent believe it has decreased.

Forty-three percent of all marketers believe that their brand KPIs are clearly linked to overall business performance. What’s interesting is that 62 percent of respondents said personal performance and rewards were linked to business KPIs. Of those companies designated as overperformers, 71 percent of respondents had personal performance and rewards linked to KPIs, compared to just 53 percent of respondents at underperforming companies.

Specifically looking at the performance of each marketer’s brand, the top three metrics that best measure brand health are loyalty, advocacy, and purchase intent. Marketers expect to see social engagement and customer experience increase in importance over the next five years.

About Marketing2020

Marketing2020 – Organizing for Growth is the most comprehensive global marketing leadership initiative ever undertaken. Led by Millward Brown Vermeer in partnership with the ANA, Spencer Stuart, and Adobe, Marketing2020 is focused on how to best align marketing strategy, structure, and capabilities for business growth. The Marketing2020 fieldwork included vision interviews with more than 250 leading CMOs and an in-depth online survey of 10,491 contributors from 92 countries.