In a recent survey by the Association of National Advertisers, the majority of senior marketers (60%) claimed that “defining, measuring and taking action on ROI is important”. But the dilemma is that only 20% of them are “satisfied with their ability to do so”. Furthermore 73% said “they lack confidence in understanding the impact of marketing on sales”. What compounds this conundrum even more is the trend in many companies toward a “project management” discipline, where metrics play a greater role.

Justifying a marketing initiative quantitatively will always be a challenge, but conducting careful research before and after will help establish credible, measurable benchmarks for analysis. It will never be perfect; however, consistent application of sophisticated, computer based methodologies will help marketers assess their ROI with greater accuracy and confidence over time.