Rocket Readings: How to Benchmark the Effectiveness of your Marketing Organization

How to Benchmark the Effectiveness of your Marketing Organization:from Sales Force Effectiveness Blog by John Staples
Marketing Organization Benchmark Effectivene
Is my Marketing Strategy broken? In a recent Sales Benchmark Index survey of 312 CMO’s and VP’s of marketing; the majority answered this question “I don’t know”.
Download the Marketing Strategy Assessment here and determine if your Marketing Strategy is broken.
80% of CMO’s indicated they utilize competitive benchmarking to influence marketing strategy according to IBM research. In the world of modern B2B marketing it’s tough to keep up, the environment is constantly changing. Start with the Marketing Strategy Assessment and determine if it’s time for a Marketing Productivity Benchmark (MPB). The MPB benchmarks your organization against a peer group providing a clear gap/gulf analysis.
Not sure the Marketing Strategy Assessment is worth 10 minutes of your time? Consider the following evidence before answering:

• 50%+ of CMO organizations indicated they are unprepared to manage 13 key market factors

IBM research: 1,734 face-to-face interviews with CMOs, spanning 19 industries and 64 countries. For a more complete review of this data, click this study by IBM, "From Stretched to Strengthened".

• 39% of Marketers don’t have a defined Content Marketing Strategy

Future of Content Marketing survey: 39% of respondents indicated they did not have a defined content marketing strategy. For a more complete review of this data, read this article by SBI.

• 64% of in-house marketers agree that content marketing is becoming its own discipline (time to look at your marketing structure)

Econsultancy, the London-based community of digital marketing and ecommerce professionals, recently produced their first ever Content Marketing Report. For a more complete review of this data, read this article by SBI.
The list goes on and on. The problem we’re solving for is how do you know where to start when assessing your overall marketing organization? Download the Marketing Strategy Assessment and determine if your Marketing Strategy is broken.
What are some of the indications you may have a marketing problem? What questions are you asking yourself? If some or all of the following fall into your basket, consider the 10 minute assessment.

Do I have a sufficient number of leads?
Does Sales ignore my leads?
Where are my leads coming from?
Are we producing enough qualified leads?
Is my team good enough?
Are we keeping pace with the market?
How do I compare to other industries?
Are we missing alternative lead sources?
Are we missing the number?
- What could I have done?
- Will I lose my job?
- What can I do differently?

So let’s assume you answered the 32 questions on the Marketing Strategy Assessment, now what? The next question is; do I have a gap, gulf or am I above the benchmark?
The first mistake in addressing the problem is to start throwing money & time at isolated projects. CMO’s are starting with an environmental scan across the entire organization first (often done on annual basis). This benchmark exercise is often referred to as a Marketing Productivity Benchmark (MPB). In some firms, the benchmark exercise is called a Lead Generation Assessment & Content Marketing Assessment.
The point is CMO’s are focused on defining the gap or gulf verse a peer group first. The next step is sequencing projects rather than an ad hoc project approach. In order to sequence projects correctly you need a complete view of the landscape before starting.
Now that we’ve highlighted the why, let’s touch on the what.
What is a Marketing Productivity Benchmark or MPB? A Marketing Productivity Benchmark is a diagnostic tool that reveals the strengths and weakness of a marketing organization.
What does an MPB do? A Marketing Productivity Benchmark identifies gaps in the marketing execution and prioritizes remedies.
What does it mean to use an MPB? It means the marketing leader can make his/her number. Don’t have a number yet, you will.
How does it work?
A typical Marketing Productivity Benchmark last between 8-12 weeks.
The project is broken down into 3 phases:

Discovery

Executive interviews
Process & documentation review (internal & external content)
Metric data review
Customer & prospect interviews (inc. win/loss analysis)
Expert panel
Marketing team survey
Bottoms up project analysis including a complete time study
Mystery shopping

Benchmarking

Assess the Marketing organization to determine the marketing maturity level
Conduct the marketing benchmark and prioritize the remediation actions
Assess the marketing performance drivers and prioritize based on the level of effort and probability of success

Present Findings

Current state
Show end state options
Quantify impact
Execution plan

The point is; the pace of change in marketing organizations is at an all-time high. The ability to maintain the same marketing strategy year-to-year is gone. Something always needs to be adjusted, tweaked or in some cases completely forklifted. Talent requirements are also constantly changing. How are you keeping yourself and your team current?
If you have questions regarding the Marketing Strategy Assessment, feel free to contact me at john.staples@salesbenchmarkindex.com. If you would like a more complete review of the Marketing Productivity Benchmark, do the same.