A founder friend recently texted me asking, “how do you measure ROI on an event?”
My response, “Call me.”
When we spoke, I asked him to describe the the event and to tell me why they decided to do it. After a long conversation, it was clear that they did the event to build their brand. OK. Fair enough.
But the problem was that their Board had completely different expectation and was pressing the founder on qualified lead and opportunity numbers for the event. There was a mismatch in expectations.
I share this story to highlight how important it is for all key stakeholders to understand precisely why you’re investing in a particular marketing program before you do it. That way you can align on expectations and how you’ll measure success.
While the example above is about a founder and his board, this happens every single day within marketing groups, between marketing & sales leaders and staff, and across organizations.
If you’re a marketing leader, it’s your job to make sure everyone is clear. If you’re a CEO or founder, it’s your job to hold your marketing leader responsible for getting and sharing this clarity.
Get clear. Up front.