The Intangibility of Marketing
As humans, we are naturally drawn to things we can measure and quantify. It is because of this human instinct that the Marketing world has been moving towards more measurable efforts. We need to know what worked and what did not so our marketing dollars are not wasted. While this makes sense, there are some components of marketing that simply cannot be measured. This “intangibility” can drive a financial analyst crazy trying to calculate ROI.
I’m not suggesting throwing all marketing metrics out the window. There are several methods out there to make sure you’re not throwing your budget to the wind:
- Sales reports
- Coupon redemption rates
- Customer retention rates
- Marketing cost per lead
- Online advertising cost per click
- New website visitors
- Active newsletter or text subscribers
- Open and click through rates
- Market share
While these are all important metrics, not all marketing opportunities will allow for such a clear-cut analysis. Some marketing goals relate to rather intangible metrics such as:
- Goodwill
- Market trust/credibility
- Reputation
- Branding
- Social media impact
By ignoring these seemingly immeasurable opportunities, you could be missing a huge piece of your marketing puzzle. Sometimes, you just have to listen to your customers and your community buzzing about your business and trust that your efforts will be rewarded.
You may not notice an immediate spike in sales from the article you published on your social media page yesterday, or the community event you sponsored last weekend, or even the tradeshow you exhibited at last month, however, over time these events pick up momentum and can distinguish you from your competitors. Remaining “top of mind” for your target market and establishing trusted relationships can pay off even more than the two percent redemption you received from that last ad campaign. Trust your instincts and take that leap of faith once in while- you may be surprised by what it can do for your business!
