Marketing: More Art Than Science?

Measurable results-oriented marketing and advertisingThe article seems to be confusing two points. It makes
clash with creative ad programs. The bell rings and themeasuring ROI seem like a one-time evaluation. And
two contestants, Art in the red corner, and Science inthat if a marketing campaign fails its first time off the
the blue corner, are back at it again. Here we go folks,block, it’s done - a failure.
for another round of “Is marketing all about Art orAnd, when that same campaign pays off a year later,
does Science prevail.its success, the article concludes, comes from the
The Financial Post newspaper ran an interesting articlecampaigns creativity — and that clearly there is no
on the morning of November 23, 2007 titled, “Morevalue in measuring its ROI.
art than science.”That’s all wrong.
The article discusses the need for more companies toMarketers test. When they deliver a campaign, they
measure their marketing and look at their ROI. Wow,are testing and measuring several aspects of it. When
that’s a new idea!something works, they do more of it. When something
I’m joking. In case you’re new to mydoesn’t, they don’t give up; they test a
writings, a quick review of past articles on my blog (change and keep making adjustments until the cash
and you’ll know that the idea of marketing ROIregister starts singing.
as a must, isn’t new at all.There is one more problem with this article. A
You can give the concept any name you like, directdistinction that must be made…
marketing, direct-response, measurable, accountable,…this article was not written with the small business in
scientific advertising — call it whatever you like, butmind. Its examples, like most you find in the media,
it’s been around for hundreds of years — andrelate to corporations that have millions of dollars, and
it’s what consistently builds the most efficientoften much more, to spend on marketing and
and successful marketing systems around.advertising each year. They can sustain years of
The article does provide an interesting statisticineffective marketing with brand awareness and brand
though…“almost half of the chief marketing officersbuilding programs…paid for in part by shareholders
surveyed felt accurate ROI data is hard to obtain.”money.
You know what I say to that…Bullocks!Small businesses don’t have that luxury. They
It’s only hard to obtain when you’remust make every marketing investment count. They
looking for it in the wrong places. Every year, testing,must know what is working, what isn’t, and
tracking and measuring marketing and advertisingwhy? Then go right to the heart of the problem and fix
investments has become easier. For one, there areit.
more tools available to automate this process. AndAnd that’s why direct-response measurable
two, with the rise of the internet (rise, is anmarketing and advertising is so effective…and why
understatement), the idea of ROI has becomeserious business owners will take and have nothing
common sense — yet far too few practice it.less.