Marketing metrics, marketing performance measurement, and marketing control

Abstract

Marketing performance measurement as a tool for controlling marketing activities has attracted substantial interest among academics and business practitioners. There have been calls for more accountability in marketing, as well as for tools that increase transparency in terms of its intangible value within a firm. Several new metrics as well as new measurement methods have been developed. Indeed, the availability of metrics or tools is no longer a challenge for firms – instead, adopting an appropriate mix of marketing metrics for measuring and communicating marketing performance in each individual firm has become the burning issue.

This report brings a novel perspective into the extant discussions on marketing performance measurement and marketing control, stressing the combinatory role of the different types of metrics and forms of control. Furthermore, it emphasizes contextuality in the definition of marketing performance and, accordingly, in its measurement and control. Two types of contextuality are recognized: first, the use of marketing metrics is shown to vary across different types of firms operating in different markets. Second, the appropriate use of metrics is shown to be contingent not only on contextual factors but also other, cultural forms of marketing control being exercised simultaneously.

In sum, the findings point to multidimensionality and contextuality in marketing performance measurement, suggesting that the sets of metrics and tools of control should always be tailored to the firm-specific context. For managers, this study provides guidelines for measuring marketing performance in a comprehensive manner, taking the firm-specific characteristics into account.

The research is based on large-scale national survey data collected in Finland in 2008 and 2010. Complementing the theoretical contributions, the empirical findings give valuable insights into contemporary practices of marketing performance measurement and control in Finnish firms. On the practical level, therefore, the findings point to avenues for improving marketing accountability and related practices among Finnish firms.