It was with great interest last month that I read BtoB’s selection of the Marketer of the Year. BtoB is a respected American marketing journal and they annually select a Marketer of the Year and nine runner-ups.
This year, Beth Comstock of GE won the BtoB honor. Strategists from Microsoft, HP, Intel and IBM were among the runner-ups. My interest was captured by the fact that not a single marketer mentioned revenue, margin or share when describing their accomplishments which had led to their nominations.
The 10 marketing strategists all described at length their various accomplishments. Ms. Comstock of GE indicated that "GE was out to achieve REAL business goals… not just create warm feelings for the company". She then cited two examples of her idea of real business goals. They were:
1. “We wanted to give people a sense that we’re more than just an appliance and lighting company.“
2. “The company wanted to be perceived as innovative and not simply a financial juggernaut.”
These are not my idea of real business objectives. The so-called objectives stated by Ms. Comstock are indicative of the problems associated with dysfunctional marketing doctrine which continues to revolve around vague, fuzzy, unmanageable objectives.
The nine runner-ups were just as vague describing their accomplishments. Not a single mention of measurable gains were made by any of the nominees. Mike Delman the Microsoft strategist went so far as to say his main objective had been "to reshape Microsoft’s image from a company driven mainly by profit" and Lorrie Paul Crum the Parker Hannifin honoree thanked the "fans of her humorous ad campaign" by sending them t-shirts and mugs. Notice she used the word "fan" and not customer.
Which compelled me to write a letter to Ellis Booker the editor of BtoB. My letter and his response follows:
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To the Editor:
I read with interest your selection for the 2003 Marketers of the Year. Missing in your descriptions were indications of ROI, revenue growth, market share gains or profit improvement.
It was interesting that the Parker Hannifin VP found it noteworthy to mention that she thanked fans of her humorous ad campaign by sending them T-shirts and mugs. And it was also interesting that the Microsoft GM wanted to reshape their image as a profit driven enterprise.
Next year, perhaps you might include a few marketers who actually moved the needle with measurable and accountable campaigns? Too much to ask?
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Mr. Booker responded back with:
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Mike,
Thanks for writing. Point taken. Might I use this as a Letter to the Editor in an upcoming issue? Let me know.
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I gave Mr. Booker permission to reprint my letter.
So what’s my point? Am I angry because a vSente client wasn’t selected? Of course not. The point is that as a strategist, if I’m deploying an effective strategy that really moves the needle I’m not going to tell BtoB magazine. The last thing I’m going to do is tip off my competitors.
What can we learn from this?
1. Communicate in accountable and measurable terms. Notion, perception, sense, impressions, and image are not measurable terms. Unless you can tie time and real value to a marketing effort, then it is a wasted effort.
2. Keep your plans secret. Keep your results confidential. If your chief marketing officer is profiled on the front page of a business publication broadcasting your plans and results you should consider changing your plans and replacing your chief marketing officer.
If you’d like to read the article yourself it’s on-line at: B2B
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