Bringing Performance-Marketing Accountability to Presidential Politics
By Peter Klein | SVP, Media Services
Performance marketers are held to the highest standard of accountability possible – return on investment (ROI). We live and die by key metrics that make our clients successful.
If we must be held accountable for every facet of our campaigns, shouldn’t the President of the United States be held to the same accountability standards?
No matter who wins, performance-style metrics should factor into measuring the President’s success.
As I outline in a new white paper, “The CMO’s Guide to Affiliate Marketing,” there is a five-step process for performance marketing success. It’s a process that will benefit not only the next President of the United States (if he were inclined to engage a performance marketing campaign) but every CMO who is seeking an edge in the era of accountability of online marketing.
Let’s review each of the five steps as they relate to the work of CMOs and Presidential candidates.
Step 1: Define the Goal. For a CMO, this means defining the desired outcome of a campaign, be it a lead or a sale that generates a specific volume of consumers; specifically, which audience to target. For a Presidential candidate, this means the campaign or platform that he stands for, the audience he wishes to target and the overall deliverables to which he will be held accountable by the American people.
Step 2: Choose the Network. CMOs need to conduct due diligence before engaging an affiliate network. This is accomplished by comparing specific areas of performance, including an affiliate network’s tenure, financials, industry/vertical expertise, etc. A Presidential candidate’s most important network, of course, is his cadre of advisers, including his Vice Presidential running mate, all of whom will help him or her represent the views and values of their campaign and political party.
Step 3: Plan the Media Mix. A comprehensive online media plan for a CMO’s affiliate marketing campaign is imperative. The same holds true for Presidential candidates. They must commit to communicating with all Americans via a transparent and responsible campaign platform.
Step 4: Monitor the Campaigns. Successful affiliate marketing campaigns require CMOs to carefully monitor the budget that is being spent post-launch. Similarly, a newly elected President must adhere to regular performance updates tracked against the platform and policies listed in the campaign and Inaugural Address.
Step 5: Optimize. For a CMO, this means achieving ROI goals via optimizing metrics on each media source. And for the President, if the campaign metrics are being achieved within four years then he gets re-elected; if not achieved, he is replaced with a new President.
Few would argue that performance marketing professionals are held to the same level of accountability as that of the President of the United States. But one thing is clear: accountability must be our calling card. The hallmark of a good President is a commitment to, and assurance of, achieving specific goals. The same performance-based attributes should be the hallmark of the performance marketing industry.
What metrics do you think are most important to measuring the effectiveness of performance marketing campaigns?
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