Sales Pipeline Should be the Primary Marketing Metric
Let’s play some word association; when you hear the word marketing what comes to mind? Most people would say brand, promotion, price, or place. Rarely would you hear the words sales pipeline, but according to a recent Aberdeen Group report titled Analytics for the CMO sales pipeline should be the primary marketing metric to measure.
The report did a really deep dive on the enablers and performance drivers of effective marketing organizations. Using their standard Maturity Class Framework methodology, Aberdeen categorized firms as Best in Class (top 20%), Industry Average (middle 50%), and Laggards (bottom 20%). Aberdeen then determined 3 key criteria to measure the contribution of the marketing organization to the sales effort:
1. Sales pipeline
2. Sales lift
3. Customer retention.
The results speak for themselves.
| The contribution of the marketing organization to the sales pipeline | |
| Best in Class | 60% |
| Industry Average | 10% |
| Laggards | 3% |
| Year over year improvement in sales lift. | |
| Best in Class | 62% |
| Industry Average | 29% |
| Laggard | 3.2% |
| Year over year increase in customer retention rates. | |
| Best in Class | 9.5% |
| Industry Average | 2.1% |
| Laggard | -3.2% |
Two major enablers that go hand in hand are web tracking/analytics and marketing content management. 86% of Best in Class companies have implemented web-tracking tools and 82% have invested in web analytics. Compare that statistic to laggard companies. Only 68% of Laggard companies utilize web tracking and only 58% identified that they use web analytics. Companies invest thousand or perhaps hundreds of thousands in web properties but many still have no clue specifically who is coming to their site and what their interests are. Without analytics and tracking measuring the effectiveness of marketing programs it is impossible to know that information, which means many dollars are wasted.
True marketing effectiveness is not just about the quantity of sales leads delivered by marketing but more importantly the quality of the leads is critical too. Leads are only valuable when they can ultimately convert into new customers and higher sales. Moving from Industry Average or Laggard position requires investment and research. Take the time to learn the new rules of marketing and maximize your marketing dollars. Your sales growth depends on it!
Consider 3FORWARD’s Lead Optimization Review if you have questions on how to generate more qualified leads for your sales people.
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