More on Marketing ROI

This post in INC magazine does a better job than I have outlining the case for MROI and how it's getting easier to do.

Here's the basic pitch:

"Advertising has long been a sort of black art with a murky ROI, and for a simple reason: Clients rarely know for sure who sees their ads, let alone whether the ads influence anyone. Even though companies spend a third of a trillion dollars a year on advertising, those ads often end up being irrelevant to the people who see them. On average, Americans are subject to some 3,000 essentially random pitches per day. Two-thirds of people surveyed in a Yankelovich Partners study said they feel "constantly bombarded" by ads, and 59% said the ads they see have little or no relevance to them. No wonder so many people dislike and ignore advertising, and so many business owners feel gun-shy about investing in serious campaigns."

That's the case; there's much more in the article about what is being done by some smart marketers.

If your marketing spending can't be tracked for productivity and effectiveness - at least on some level - you need some help. (That's not so much a pitch for you to call me as just good advice, but if I can help, well...)