營銷問責制

營銷雖不像極為精準的火箭科學，可是技術行業(yè)營銷官還是可以給他的服務業(yè)同行傳授一兩招訣竅的。

Marketing isn’t rocket science. But there’s still a lesson or two the technology CMO can teach his professional services counterpart.

問責制是當下營銷季的風向標，在每個公司都或多或少能看到問責制的影子。它是營銷圓桌會、研討會或大會中最流行的主題。當然了，預算如此緊，公司的各種首席官們又一直說公司的錢都必須花在刀刃上。所以能不提到問責制嗎？

營銷中問責制的風行不能、也不應當被忽視，因為這是責任化經(jīng)商發(fā)展的正確方向。合作伙伴意味著你和商業(yè)同仁都必須言出必行。問責制的風起云涌證明營銷正走向成熟。

營銷往往被當作公司的經(jīng)營成本，而不是核心能力或是投入，所以它很難在公司會議桌上贏得一席之地。大家會問，去年的營銷預算都花到哪兒去了？換來了什么？眾所周知，零售業(yè)巨頭約翰·華納梅克創(chuàng)造了這個時代執(zhí)行官對市場官的偏見，他聲稱“我很清楚我的廣告費有一半都被白白浪費掉了，問題是我不清楚是哪一半”，這番話直擊揭市場人的痛處。

技術行業(yè)進入了飛速發(fā)展的第三個10年，營銷對這一行業(yè)產(chǎn)生了前所未有的非凡影響。對技術營銷的依賴不斷增加，原因之一是一段時間以來，人們認為技術營銷是能夠測量的，能對其結(jié)果負責。和其他垂直市場相比，技術行業(yè)更多地受到數(shù)據(jù)的推動，各種有效的測量方法和標準越來越制度化。通過精準的營銷設計，約翰·華納梅克所指責的浪費已經(jīng)被逐漸擠出了技術營銷等式。

而另一方面，營銷在專業(yè)服務領域還是個相對較新的現(xiàn)象。20世紀80年代，會計師事務所和咨詢公司開始接受營銷，90年代律師事務所也開始步其后塵。首席市場官開始出現(xiàn)在公司高管會議上，甚或成為公司合伙人，這些都不再是稀罕事了。但是，這并不意味著專業(yè)服務行業(yè)已經(jīng)全心全意地接受了營銷或者說營銷已經(jīng)標準化。問責對律師事務所的市場官尤其重要，比起對技術行業(yè)營銷官來說，把問責制具體化、商業(yè)化更是棘手。雖然這兩個行業(yè)的市場人面臨同樣的挑戰(zhàn)，服務業(yè)市場官還是可以從技術市場官那里學到一兩招。那么這些招數(shù)是什么呢？

獲得高管的認同

測量和問責都是為了推動業(yè)務取得成功，進而獲得回報。技術公司的工程師和業(yè)務經(jīng)理對營銷采取了非常理性的態(tài)度。他們清楚地認識到，營銷活動會變成銷售線索，繼而變成推銷的機會，從而實現(xiàn)銷售。

服務業(yè)的高管們也必須接受測評和問責決定企業(yè)成功這種邏輯關系，市場官的任務就是建立它們之間的聯(lián)系。如果在營銷活動中發(fā)現(xiàn)了成功的火花，市場官一定要做好準備，迎接勝利成果。要向高管們建議，把可測量的營銷目標納入市場官的職責范圍，賦予營銷合理的預算資金，這樣才可能真正摘到勝利的果實。

同樣道理，市場官在和廣告設計、廣告代理、公共和互動關系公司等等營銷代理共同制定周密的營銷計劃時，要確保他們對公司營銷要求和測評心中有數(shù)，對你和高管們的期望也都一清二楚。

定義“問責”

問責的基本原則是一方要求另一方按照協(xié)議行事。技術公司會要求公關代理策劃反響積極的媒體活動，要求互動代理策劃網(wǎng)上宣傳活動并產(chǎn)生銷售線索。這些代理都必須用實際行動和效果表明他們完成了任務，這是他們的責任所在。

服務行業(yè)的市場官掌握著能夠落實問責制的各種測評手段，其中最得當?shù)脑u估措施與企業(yè)的成功密不可分。市場官要確立切實可行的目標，把它們列入代理協(xié)議中去，選定可行的、但非簡單容易的評估手段，因為最終目標是取得營銷的成功。

欲速則不達

受數(shù)字技術推動的技術行業(yè)最看重精準度。技術行業(yè)市場官本著提高營銷活動效率的精神，會非常非常謹慎地測評營銷活動，策略地運用他們的技術知識。比如，如果系列研討會每場出席率都很高，就會對業(yè)務產(chǎn)生立竿見影的效果；又如，設計巧妙的輔助計劃能夠提高每次營銷活動的參與人數(shù)。

服務業(yè)的市場官同樣要選定最精準的測評手段，要在合作伙伴中下足功夫獲得他們的認同，還要確保各個代理對評估手段和目標一清二楚。模棱兩可的評估只會產(chǎn)生含糊不明的結(jié)果，且和公司的業(yè)務毫無聯(lián)系。

理解營銷和銷售之間的關系

技術行業(yè)中，銷售和營銷被當作兩個獨立、必要而互補的部門。營銷負責定義品牌，傳遞價值主張，生成銷售線索。在組織精良的技術公司，這兩個部門有效合作，促使銷售線索轉(zhuǎn)化成宣傳活動，最終實現(xiàn)銷售。

為了提升品牌和價值主張，當然有時還要產(chǎn)生銷售線索，律師事務所的市場官一定要和外部代理攜手制定宣傳材料和計劃。但是市場官必須要求代理們擔負起硬核心銷售的責任。如果他們?nèi)狈φ_的銷售技巧，市場官們就必須幫助他們掌握相關的知識。

向外部代理提供他們出色完成任務所需的一切

要想讓代理們負起責任，就必須創(chuàng)造一切機會促使他們成功。在技術行業(yè)，這就意味著代理們可以暢通無阻地和公司的領導層接觸，了解他們的愿景，獲得產(chǎn)品信息和市場數(shù)據(jù)。一般說來，如果知道公司領導能夠提供這些有用的信息，這些代理就如虎添翼，能夠大有作為。

商業(yè)咨詢公司的合作伙伴必須隨時提出差異化的觀點、慎密的看法和積極的建議。要讓他們盡職盡責。你一定要仔細聽取營銷代理對數(shù)據(jù)和信息的要求，要及時回應他們的需求。問責制是雙向責任。記住，你要求代理們負起責任，同時你還要期待他們成功，因為你們的利益是緊緊捆綁在一起的。

接受營銷代理的忠告

技術行業(yè)市場官走過了迂回曲折的學習道路，最終知道必須挑選行業(yè)里歷史悠久、經(jīng)驗豐富的代理公司；必須要制定營銷計劃，要迅速執(zhí)行。有著豐富業(yè)內(nèi)經(jīng)驗的代理商們應當能夠為公司的業(yè)務、戰(zhàn)略和可選方案提供客觀、誠實、坦率的意見。

專業(yè)服務行業(yè)的首席市場官應當向技術行業(yè)的同仁學習。不要嘗試聘用對你的領域毫無經(jīng)驗的營銷代理，這樣做會浪費大量時間向他們解釋你的領域和其他領域的細微差別，幫助他們了解顧客的價值取向。一旦雇傭了經(jīng)驗豐富的代理公司，就一定要聽取他們的意見，要讓他們利用經(jīng)驗為你提供深入的觀點和意見，傾聽他們的看法，利用他們有價值的經(jīng)驗。

靈活多變

眾所周知，技術行業(yè)是個充滿活力的行業(yè)。這個行業(yè)的特征之一就是變化，一旦變化現(xiàn)身，營銷的優(yōu)先順序就要做相應的調(diào)整。技術市場官給我們的另一點啟示是：制定標準，靈活多變。這一點似乎自相矛盾，和我們的直覺相左。一方面必須要定義標準和測評指標，確定測量的目標，要求外部代理負起責任，同時還要因地制宜，與時俱進。如果測量指標不再能反映公司現(xiàn)在或?qū)淼臉I(yè)務影響，還堅持要求外部代理按照這個指標形式，問責制就失去了意義。

問責制現(xiàn)在大行其道，它會在任何行業(yè)長久存在。這是一件好事，因為問責制能夠掀開營銷神秘的面紗，揭示投資回報率的真實面目。它會推動標準的實施，檢驗最佳實踐，并且最終為市場官在公司中贏得一席之地。

（王欣紅 譯）

Accountability is this marketing season’s Burberry; everyone has to show some form of it. It is by far the most popular theme at marketing roundtables， seminars or conventions. And why not? Budgets are as tight as ever and C-suite executives are insisting that their organizations count their pennies.

The trend toward accountability in marketing cannot-and should not-be ignored， since it is a movement toward a more responsible way of doing business. The basic concept of partnership is the belief that your business colleagues will do precisely what they agree they'll do-and that you will too. The movement toward greater accountability is proof that marketing is coming of age.

Marketing has rarely been able to earn a seat at the table because it was viewed as a cost of doing business instead of as a core capacity or investment. Where did the marketing budget go last year? What did it generate? We all know that retail magnate John Wanamaker created a CEO bias for the ages-and a sore spot for marketers-when he declared that he knew 50 percent of his advertising budget was wasted; he just didn’t know which half.

In the technology sector-an industry in its third decade-the influence of marketing has never been greater. One of the key reasons for the increased reliance on tech marketing is that it has been held accountable for some time. Since the sector is more data-driven than other vertical marketplaces， meaningful measures and standards have become increasingly institutionalized. Much of the waste that Wanamaker decried has been engineered out of the technology marketing equation.

On the other hand， marketing is a relatively new phenomenon in the field of professional services. Accounting firms and business consultancies started to embrace marketing in the 1980s; law firms followed in the 1990s. It is no longer a rarity to see CMOs sitting on management committees-or even holding partnership status. However， none of this means that marketing success in the professional services sector is fully embraced or easy to calibrate. And while accountability is every bit as important to the law firm CMO， it is much trickier to demonstrate and merchandise than it is for the technology CMO. Although marketers in both sectors face unique challenges， the professional services CMO could learn a thing or two from the tech CMO. What do those lessons include?

Get executive buy-in.

The process of measurement and the objective of accountability are both intended to determine business success-success that should encourage reward. The engineers and business managers running technology companies view marketing through a very rational lens. They see clear connections between marketing activities that turn into leads， which turn into presentations， which result in sales.

The managing partners in professional services organizations must buy into the relationship that measurement and accountability have on business success， and it’s the CMO’s job to make sure that happens. When there is a win sparked by a marketing initiative， the CMO must be properly positioned to accept the reward. Suggest to the managing partners that measurable goals are written into the CMO job description and that marketing is funded realistically so that you can achieve the objectives.

Similarly， when charting a course with a marketing resource-your design company， advertising， interactive or public relations agency-make sure that it understands the imperative as well as the measures. Be crystal clear about your expectations as well as the managing partners’.

Define “accountability.”

The basic tenet of accountability is that one party holds another to their working agreement. In the technology sector， a PR agency might be expected to produce a certain number of positive media hits. An interactive agency would be expected to engineer a certain number of leads generated by an online initiative. Both would be held accountable for demonstrating their fulfillment of the promise.

The professional services CMO has a variety of measures to enable accountability， the best of which are closely connected to business success. Encourage realistic， meaningful goals from the managing partners and incorporate those into the working agreements with your marketing resources. Define obtainable， though not necessarily easy， measures. The objective is to be successful.

Remember the adage， haste makes waste.

The digitally driven technology sector is all about precision. The tech CMO measures very， very carefully and applies knowledge strategically in the interest of increasing program effectiveness. Seminar series attendance， for example， can have an immediate business impact; supportive marketing programs are often tweaked very subtly to increase attendance records with each deployment.

The professional services CMO also needs to determine measurements that can be evaluated with a surgical precision. Take all the time necessary to make sure that the partners are on board and that your outside resources are clear on the metrics and objectives. Vague measurements will produce only fuzzy results， with the most tenuous connection to business impact.

Understand the relationship between marketing and sales.

In the technology sector， sales and marketing are seen as separate， essential and complementary. Marketing defines the brand， communicates the value proposition and generates sales leads. In the very best organized technology companies， there is an efficient handshake between the two competencies as leads are transferred for presentations and closing.

The CMO in a law firm must work with outside resources to develop materials and programs that do the lifting for the brand， its value proposition and-in some cases-lead generation. But the CMO must be able to hold the partners in the firm accountable for the hard-core sales closing. If these partners don't have the appropriate sales skills， they must be expected to develop them.

Give your marketing resources everything they need.

If you are going to hold your resources accountable， you must provide every opportunity to generate success. In the technology space， this means unfettered access to the company’s leadership and vision， as well as to product information and marketplace data. Often， the thought leadership that exists within a technology company can provide content that offers the most powerful weaponry.

Partners in a business consultancy must be available， willing and interested in being out in front with differentiated opinions， thoughtful perspectives and provocative speeches. Hold them accountable for this. Make sure that you listen carefully to your marketing agencies’ requests for input and data， and be responsive. Accountability is a two-way street. Remember， you are holding your agencies accountable， but you want them to be successful because your interests are tied to theirs.

Take counsel from your marketing resources.

The technology CMO has learned to hire resources that have industry provenance and significant domain experience. The learning curve is an “avoid”; programs need to be up and running quickly. Agencies with valuable industry experience should be expected to provide objective， honest and frank views on your business， strategies and options.

The professional services CMO should take a page from the tech book. Don’t experiment with marketing resources that are new to your segment; you will invest too much time teaching the critical nuances of your profession and helping them understand the complex buyer values. But don’t hire seasoned pros and ignore their counsel. Hold them accountable for providing the perspectives and insights gained through their histories. Then give them a fair and open hearing， and leverage that considerable value.

Be flexible.

The dynamic nature of the technology sector is well-known. Change is part of the landscape， and with change， priorities can shift. And so the technology CMO inspires one other bit of insight that might actually seem counterintuitive or ironic: Have standards， but be flexible. Define those standards and measures. Be clear about those objectives. Hold your marketing resources accountable， and demonstrate your own accountability. But be flexible as circumstances evolve. What practical good can come from holding an agency accountable to a metric that is no longer tied to a current or future business impact?

While accountability is hot right now， it’s definitely here to stay-no matter what industry. This is a good thing， since it can only demystify marketing and reveal ROI. It will force standards as well as an examination of best practices and， in the end， create a seat at the table for the CMO.