Strive for “No Excuses Marketing”
According to an article in HBR, “Without question, rethinking performance management is at the top of many executive teams’ agendas.” This concern ranges across the entire organization. In our experience, the Marketing function is the most challenged when it comes to performance management and performance measurement. Perhaps you are among the Marketing leaders who are in the process of seeking to prove and continuously improve the value of Marketing and address performance management. If so, you may encounter resistance or at least some objections from team members.
Change is hard; overcome resistanceWhether they are spoken or unspoken (e.g., the fear of being measured and found wanting) it can be challenging to overcome these objections. If you find yourself in this situation, here are some ideas, based on these most frequent excuses, the Marketing leaders (CGOs, CMOs, VPs, and Directors of Marketing) we work with on Marketing Performance Management (MPM) initiatives have had to overcome.
– We don’t have the time or money
– It’s too hard, and we don’t know where to start
– Measuring ROI is impossible
– We don’t have the data
Overcome These Common Objections to Performance Management
While every organization is different and may be at a different place on the Marketing Performance Management maturity curve, we often hear the same reasons again and again for slow or a lack of progress. Perhaps the ones below resonate with you. If so, here are some suggestions for how to overcome these frequent objections.
Lack of Time and Resources. This is the most frequent response leaders hear when it comes to doing anything new or hard, especially in regard to performance management and performance measurement. Share the unvarnished truth, that even the largest organizations don’t have enough of either of these – and they never will. The single best way to secure more resources and more respect is by proving the value of marketing, and demonstrating that further investment is more than just a good idea – it is critical to achieving business goals.
Not Knowing Where to Start. The next biggest performance measurement and management obstacle Marketing leaders hear is that it’s too hard, and they don’t know where to start. First, acknowledge these folks for their honesty—it takes some guts to say, “I don’t know. ” Be open in your response. Say, “Yes, it is hard, but every other part of the organization has done it, and we can, too.”
Research over the past decade has proven that there is a direct relationship between proving Marketing’s value and its alignment with the business. Many marketing programs live in isolation; others are designed to support the sales team. Even marketing organizations that create and adhere to a marketing plan often lack alignment. So, this is the first place to start—the kind of do-not-pass-go, do-not-collect $200 start.
Many organizations believe they have alignment, but we see marketing plans from companies of all sizes in all industries, and less than 10% can actually make this claim. Marketers who craft plans without access to the organization’s strategic or business plan are doomed from the get-go. To drive results, you need to know what needles to move, not the overall revenue target, but the bets and plays the organization needs to make and win in order to achieve the revenue target.
You know you have alignment when you can draw a direct line between Marketing activities and business outcomes. Aligned marketers are not defined by their focus or a function, such as social media, interactive, digital marketing, or traditional marketing; they are clued into and focused on the business.
Inability to Measure Marketing’s Value. Some marketers believe that impact or value can’t be measured. Whether this is really a fear of being measured or just that they have not personally seen or done it, you must debunk this myth. “What one man can do, another can do.” And many have successfully measured Value, beyond ROI. Agree that yes, it won’t be easy, it will take work, it may take some new skills, processes, tools, or even external help, AND yes we can and must measure marketing’s value, impact, and contribution.
The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. Break the project down into small steps and then take a step together. Which one? Go back and address alignment and identify the top one or two business needles that marketing is expected to move and choose the appropriate metric. Work with your team to determine how to measure this metric, capture the data from programs designed to influence it, and report it. This will enable you to achieve better performance measurement.
Lack of data. Acknowledge that data is a real and legitimate challenge. Before your team can address this challenge, you need to be clear about the problem. For some marketers, this challenge is due to the prolific number of disparate systems and data, which inhibits data collection and analysis. For others, it isn’t so much a lack of data as the wrong kind of data. And for others, it may truly be a lack of data. But, in today’s data-driven environment, every Marketing organization needs to step up its data game to remain relevant to the business.
Summary. Leaders see excuses for what they are – fear of the unknown, and turn them into teachable moments. To survive and thrive in today’s business environment, marketers must have the skills to measure and report on Marketing’s contribution to the business. While it may be difficult at first, the payoff makes it well worth the effort. Use your Marketing Operations (MarketingOps) function to help develop and achieve your performance management initiative.
Marketing performance management is our passion. It’s been the focus of our work since our start in 1999. We’d welcome an opportunity to help you succeed with your MPM initiatives. Let’s start a conversation today.
FAQ:
A: It is the discipline of refusing to let common objections stall Marketing Performance Management (MPM). Instead, leaders treat resistance as normal, address the underlying fear or uncertainty, and move forward with measurable, aligned performance improvement.
A:
- “We don’t have the time or money.”
- “It’s too hard; we don’t know where to start.”
- “Measuring ROI is impossible / Marketing’s value can’t be measured.”
- “We don’t have the data.”
A: Acknowledge the reality—no organization ever has enough. Then state the business truth: the best way to earn more resources and respect is to prove Marketing’s value. Measurement is not overhead; it is how Marketing protects and grows investment.
A: Validate the honesty, then reframe: yes, it’s hard, but every other function has done it—and Marketing can too. Start with alignment as the non-negotiable first step: define which business needles Marketing is expected to move (not just the revenue target) and link activities to outcomes.
A: You can draw a direct line between Marketing activities and business outcomes. Aligned marketers are not defined by a channel specialty; they are defined by business focus—knowing the strategic bets and plays required to hit targets.
A: Treat it as a myth—often rooted in fear or lack of exposure. Agree it’s not easy and may require new skills, processes, tools, or outside help, but reinforce that value can and must be measured—beyond simplistic ROI.
A: Break the initiative into small steps: start with alignment, pick one or two business needles, select the right metric, define how to measure it, capture program data designed to influence it, and report results. This creates momentum and builds capability.
A: Acknowledge it as legitimate, then diagnose the real problem: disparate systems, the wrong kind of data, or true absence of data. Regardless, Marketing must improve its data capability to remain relevant—often with Marketing Ops leading the effort.
A: Leaders recognize excuses as fear of the unknown and turn them into teachable moments. MPM capability is now essential to Marketing’s survival and credibility—and Marketing Ops is a practical engine for building and sustaining it.
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