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Marketing measurement is considered a vexing challenge in the professional
service sector, and has not yet become an integral piece of professional
service firm strategies to compete.
Firms are increasingly broadening their performance measures.
Beyond simply measuring their promotional initiatives, they are
also adapting their measurement efforts in order to compete more
successfully.
- Most professional service firms assess the
effectiveness of their promotional vehicles based on thin evidence.
When asked how they knew their top ranked promotional vehicle
was successful, only one third could say they had actually gained
new clients or brought in new revenue from their efforts.
- Only 23% of the study respondents quantitatively
calculated a financial ROI from their promotional vehicles
(and this only included actual cash outlays, not professionals’
time investments).
- Just 27% determined effectiveness of their promotional vehicles
through a formal survey or qualitative evaluation
of client or prospect feedback.
- Only 28% adapted their performance measures to in order to manage
their professionals’ behavior to “get closer to clients.”
- Firms will increasingly initiate marketing measurement methods
that are formal, proactive, analytic and externally-focused, and
they will more deeply integrate their client satisfaction benchmarks
throughout the firm. For example, one respondent said it was “Working
towards a fully integrated balanced scorecard where numerous issues
related to interaction and responsiveness to clients will be measured
and rewarded.”
Case Study
ACNielsen, one of the most respected names in the business of market
research, information and analysis, used five critical measurement
processes to help significantly increase its strategic focus and
market leadership in its sector. These processes include measuring
employee satisfaction; measuring client satisfaction; adopting a
time-tracking approach; developing a set of quality measures; and
creating and using a set of 25 internal productivity metrics to
help the firm improve the way it manages itself for the benefit
of the firm’s clients. Since beginning its measurement program
in 1996, ACNielsen’s global operating income has more than
tripled, net income has nearly quintupled, and return on equity
and return on assets have more than tripled.
Figure 8.1 Thin evidence of promotional
effectiveness
Professional
service firms assessed promotional effectiveness based on
thin evidence
When asked how they knew their
top ranked promotional vehicle was successful, only one-third
of all respondents could say they actually gained new clients
or brought in revenue.
source: Expertise Marketing,
LLC |
Figure 8.2 Quantitative measurements
of promotion effectiveness
Quantitative
measurements of promotion effectiveness were fragmented, and
hardly went far enough
source: Expertise Marketing,
LLC |
Figure 8.3 Qualitative measurements
of promotion effectiveness
Qualitative
measurements of promotion effectiveness were largely anecdotal
source: Expertise Marketing,
LLC |
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