2 Comments for Measuring Marketing: 103 Key Metrics Every Marketer Needs

• 1. Helsa  |  February 6th, 2010 at 3:34 pm

  Everywhere you look these days, professional communicators seem to be talking about measurement. From marketing and PR to advertising specifically, the question of how we measure a range of marketing and communication activities–the question of how we the right numbers and make decisions–seems to be perplexing companies around the globe.

  Perhaps part of the reason measurement is such a challenging problem is that subject is not inherently interesting. Who wants to sit down and actually read a book about marketing metrics? Measuring Marketing: 103 Key Measures Every Marketer Needs is a book that, in my opinion, does a great job of addressing both problems. The book succinctly explains what each metric is, why the metric is important, and how that metric impacts decision making. In addition to helping us better understand measurement, the book is very well written and in plain English. This was actually enjoyable reading.

  The book uses a clear three-part structure for each metric. Each metric is defined, we are then told the importance of each metric, and finally how the metric should impact our decision making. Consequently, the book is as much a reference manual as it is a marketing trade book. I began by reading the book in a cover-to-cover style (as I would any other book), but quickly found myself jumping throughout the book as some measures proved more applicable to my concerns.

  My sense is that virtually any company can benefit from this book. The description of each metric is concise, the importance of each metric is clearly explained, and topically the book moves through a wide range of measures which look at revenue, cot per unit, market share, segment and customer profitability, price, share of voice, direct mail profit, cost per click, recall, inventory turnover, retail close ratio, sales force turnover rate, break-even sales volume, and even team selling compensation to name just a few. The range of metrics is amazingly comprehensive.

  It is difficult to imagine how a marketing team could look through this book and not come up with a small set of metrics delivering the necessary information for assessing their work. Granted, the book does not go into depth regarding some of the more leading edge issues such as social media (for example, how would you measure the value of Nokia’s N90 blog?). Another critique might be that he book looks only at traditional marketing measures and could be slightly less useful if a company is taking a more integrated marketing communication approach. That said, the book gives me so many measures that I remain convinced that almost anybody can improve their measurement by turning to this book.

  I am very glad I took the time to read this text.

• 2. Yama  |  February 6th, 2010 at 3:39 pm

  John Davis provides an overview of commonly used business metrics that he subdivides in three categories: 1) Marketing Planning and Customers; 2) The Offering; and 3) Sales Force. Davis usually explains clearly each metric that he covers by sequentially examining the measurement need, solution, and impact on decision making. Most of the time, Davis gives a clear example that helps readers put the theory into practice. Some metrics in the third section such as Four Factor Model and Sales Variance Analysis will be somewhat challenging to readers who are not very comfortable with numbers.

  To his credit, Davis is straightforward about the difficulties that readers can experience in collecting some of the information needed to use some of the metrics under review. Davis also cautions his audience against the danger of blindly using industry averages because each company has its own DNA. Davis is at his weakest when he presents an overview of key Internet metrics such as gross page impressions, cost per click, and cost per action. The coverage of these metrics is too superficial to be of any use to any reader who is looking for more than the basics. To summarize, “Measuring Marketing 103 Key Metrics Every Marketer Needs” is a good reference book for a quick education about some of the most commonly used business metrics.

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