Measuring marketing performance as a B2B organization is an essential function of ongoing business success. In a highly saturated environment, B2B companies must have a strategy for standing out among their competitors and consistently attracted new prospects into the pipeline. The unfortunate reality is that many B2B organizations fail to hit their mark in the realm of marketing thanks, in part, to missteps in marketing performance measurement.

In recent years, the introduction of marketing performance management has come onto the scene, giving some B2B marketers optimism surrounding their ability to effectively and confidently improve marketing results. However, as with any new way of doing business, many marketers face obstacles in successfully implementing and interpreting marketing performance measurements. To avoid falling into the trap of B2B marketing blunders, here are five mistakes to avoid in measuring performance.

Intentionless Metrics

In a recent study by Allocadia, only 6% of marketers in the B2B space feel confident that the metrics they use to make decisions on forward progress are helpful. The majority of those surveyed have little to no belief that marketing measurements currently used produce optimal insight into campaign success or what to do in future campaigns. Some experts in the field of marketing suggest that this disparity lies in the realisation that conventional marketing measurements are used to look backward, which only provide so much detail into the success or failure of a specific initiative. B2B marketers are encouraged to take a forward approach, utilising advanced marketing performance management, not just metrics, in order to realise the full potential of the input data points used in the process.

Ignoring the Finance and Marketing Link

Another common misstep in measuring marketing performance is the disconnect between organisational departments. More often than not, B2B marketing leads are focused on their units only, measuring the progress of projects within the confines of their own team. However, a look outward into the departments that directly correlate to marketing success, such as the finance team, is a crucial aspect of understanding how much investment the company is willing to make in marketing efforts. Failing to connect with the CFO of the company as a B2B marketer in a strategic partner relationship makes it difficult to measure success or gain additional buy-in as projects progress.

Failing to Invest in Dedicated Systems

Because there is often a disconnect between the powers that be in the budget department and B2B marketers, an investment in updated technology dedicated to marketing initiatives is not always on the docket. Instead, marketers use legacy systems and processes borrowed from other departments. While this can effectively get the job done in terms of performance, the data used for other company units may not align well with the marketing department’s needs. To get accurate performance measurement, marketers need to invest in their own technology and systems that easily integrate into other platforms throughout the organisation.

Poor Data Quality

Piggybacking on the use of legacy systems is the mistake of leaning on poor-quality data in measuring marketing performance over time. Many B2B marketers cannot gather the appropriate insights into the success or failure of their marketing efforts because they are using inaccurate or out-dated information. Upgrading systems to include a marketing performance management tool helps in this regard, as does consolidating data into a single source. The latter offers the most breadth of change as it provides marketers with the detailed information they need on finance, planning, and other investments related to marketing initiatives.

Overlooking Team Engagement

Finally, B2B marketers often overlook the correlation between marketing performance and team engagement. Without a strong undercurrent of engaged employees, marketing efforts are not likely to get out of the gate with much gusto. But more importantly, highly engaged employees offer marketing insights not always found within traditional performance metrics. Tapping into the power of a performance management solution can be a lynchpin between employee engagement and the unique insights into marketing performance B2B marketers need. This is because performance management aligns employees’ progress with overarching corporate initiatives on a continual basis, not just for a single appraisal throughout the year. Creating an environment where marketing team members are attuned to their own career development offers an additional way to boost performance of campaigns over time.

Shifting to a marketing performance management system that encompasses clean data, a single source of information, and CFO-CMO relations along with up-to-date employee engagement strategies is one way B2B marketers can enhance their performance measurement over time. The only way to improve the outcome of marketing initiatives is to tackle these obstacles with the right tools and the right people behind the scenes.

Author’s Bio:

Linda is the Founder and CEO of TalentGuard, a leading global talent management software company. Inventive and driven, she is known throughout the industry for disrupting HR technology and is the inventor of the first commercially available career pathing software solution designed to optimize employee engagement and retention.Prior to TalentGuard, Linda was a key executive at pcOrder, where she helped to transform an early stage start-up into a leading NASDAQ-listed public corporation. She also held executive roles at other start-ups and Fortune 100 companies. When she isn’t immersed in entrepreneurship, Linda enjoys being in the great outdoors, hiking, running marathons, and singing karaoke. She is an advocate of women’s leadership and empowerment and has led various prominent charities, including the Young Women’s Alliance and American Cancer Society. Linda has two amazing sons and is married to her best friend, Frank.