FAQs

So many firms promise to deliver ROI. How do I know who really will?

I find that many people who are not in finance use the term "ROI" very loosely. I once had a media salesman try to tell me that if I bought a banner ad on his Web site, my ROI would automatically be calculated for me! ROI is much too complex for an automatic online calculation. If the firm you're working with uses "ROI" to mean any kind of general measure, that's your first clue that they can't deliver. Learn more about ROI fundamentals.

We need sales results to determine ROI of our marketing communications, but our salespeople won't cooperate. Any ideas?

Ah, the perpetual lament. Your salespeople can only benefit if your marketing generates quality leads that convert to sales quickly and easily. The more you know about which part of your marketing efforts yields the greatest results, the more your can increase your efforts to provide better and better leads. So getting feedback about what's working can only benefit salespeople in the long-term.

Still, getting cooperation from the sales force can be a formidable task in some companies. I've found that getting buy-in helps in:

determining lead criteria,
developing communication content, and
creating reporting methodologies.

The last point is especially critical. You don't want to create a system that requires salespeople to enter data any more than they have to. Click here for more ideas about engaging-or circumventing-salespeople.

We already have a lead-tracking program, so why do we need DataDriven MarCom?

If you already have a lead-tracking program for your salespeople, great. But that alone will not tell you the return on your marketing investment. DataDriven MarCom closes the loop between marketing and sales-that is, the database captures and maintains the data you need to demonstrate ROI. Since you have a lead-tracking program your salespeople already use, we can integrate that data so your salespeople don't have to enter data twice.

If you don't have a lead tracking system, your salespeople will each have a DDMC Lead Dashboard to track their leads and record information. It's easy to use, and provides critical data you need to determine ROI. If salespeople will not participate, see above.