We love data. But by themselves, numbers aren’t enough tell the story of marketing’s impact on the business. The answer to a question about marketing performance is rarely “42.”
The real story of marketing performance only becomes clear when we can see the data compared to relevant benchmarks. A cost-per-acquisition of $zxy only comes alive if we can say, “That’s down 24% from last month,” or, “that’s xyz% better than the last campaign.” We need that sort of strategic context and perspective to understand the meaning of any particular performance result—or, from an omnichannel point of view, two or more results taken together.
A datapoint in isolation doesn’t have much to say. Data in context—trends, comparisons, tracking to goal—is what delivers actionable insight.
So, while we love data, we love what the data is saying even more. And the way you learn what the data is saying is to compare it to benchmarks.
If you want to learn more about how performance benchmarks can help you understand and communicate marketing’s impact on the business, we’ve got a webcast coming up, The Power of Benchmarking, that covers everything you need to know.
It takes place on January 25th at 9:00 am PST, and you can register here to be a part of it. See you then!