Successful metrics for a marketing consultation proposal

An important aspect to include in a consultation proposal are the measures of success or metrics.  A metric is a measure or indicator of success, and it should be the main aspect for the client and the consultant. My aim is to provide guidelines that can help you with the definition of the right metrics, for a successful conceptual agreement.  

In a marketing consulting proposal, metrics has the purpose of monitor the success rate of the project. Also, the consultants should demonstrate your accountability, how progress is being made and how the prospective client would receive the return of their investment for the consultation project. It is advisable that every objective has at least one metric and that most of those have a consensual agreement in place, between the client and the consultant. (Weiss, 2016).

The beginning for the definition of metrics is to take into consideration what the client views as successful and what the purpose of the project is.

Success is a long-lasting accomplishment of where you want to be as an individual or an organization. I believe that the definition of success varies from person to person and it can be considered subjective. It is therefore important that the concept requires clarification, in order to define the right metrics. To illustrate this, let’s say that you want to lose weight in order to look fit. An appropriate question would be how many kilos do I need to lose to feel fitter? The answer could be as much as losing 5 kg. With this objective, you start to define the methods of creating and maintaining a healthy diet, an exercise plan and good habits. However, you are also required to keep track of all those goals in order to check when you have successfully achieved your goal (Brahm, Kovac, & Guarraia, 2018).

Organizations have a reason for being or a purpose which translates into internal aims or objectives in every division, department, team etc. Some of those organizational aims can include effectiveness or customer satisfaction, efficiency in their processes; employees’ satisfaction, and future goals. In saying that, a good consultant needs to understand the purpose of the business, in order to determine good indicators. Good consultants start their research by checking the vision, mission, values and strategic plans of the business you are working for.

Furthermore, a better understanding of the purpose of a consultation project can be obtained from the stakeholders’ viewpoints or perceptions. Consequently, good metrics require feedbacks from the stakeholders involved. Those stakeholders could be sponsor of the project, current or prospective clients, employees in operations, management teams, providers amongst others. Let’s illustrate some metrics for a marketing objective by analysing the purpose and stakeholders’ views (see table 1 below)

As you can see in table 1, there is a clear purpose for the organisation, which translates into marketing objectives and then as a consultant you can establish metrics. Those metrics involve stakeholders’ viewpoint over those aspects (Brahm, Kovac, & Guarraia, 2018).

One of the biggest challenges when you are defining metrics, is how to write them.  Successful metrics can be classified as scientific or anecdotal. (Weiss, 2016). The scientific metric relies on data and information gathered such as weekly reports, the number of people that sign up for a webinar, the number of people that call as a result of a marketing strategy, and the number of new followers as a result of a social media campaign. A good recommendation for this case is to investigate similar consultation projects in order to define the right metrics. (Brahm, Kovac, & Guarraia, 2018).

 The second approach is to write metrics in a consultation proposal is anecdotal which a measure that you agree will be observed by the buyer. Those are the types of metrics that are more easily perceived, or in some cases, considered invaluable. For instance, brand value, how marketing spending is affecting that value and how much company revenue can be increased due to marketing efforts (Klubeck, 2017).

Another example of an anecdotal metric is how to measure the value of training or educational purposes in an organization. However, providing a description of the process to achieve this training. For instance, during the consultation process, Pinzon and Co. will offer training in social media content for the department of marketing, which is constituted by 20 people. As a result of that training, the department of marketing will write a one-year proposal of content for the company. Note that these metrics can be tracked by the buyer of the consultation via anecdotal evidence, observation and a report (tangible outcome).

In short, the consultation process requires the translation of the success and purpose of the project into measures that serve as an indicator of the progress or achievement and could be indicative of how the business is doing.