Is the goal of business to do the best you can or to beat others? A surprising number of people seem to think business is about beating others. The technical term is competitor orientation — when your ultimate objective is to beat your competitors. The point is that pretty much whatever your view of business,…
Category: Marketing Metrics
Marketers Prefer Contribution
A couple of years ago teaching introductory marketing I told my students they must have calculations in the final exam. They listened and gave me numbers. My students were mostly aim for investment banking. They thought finance had the “best” numbers and so used these. They gave me some marvellous numbers, e.g., EBITDA and NOPAT….
How Bad Metrics Help
In this post, I will examine how bad metrics help. Something doesn’t have to be perfect to be useful. Often the act of creating a metric, even a bad metric, creates debate/conversations which highlight what we do, or do not, know. Two Scenarios Consider the following scenarios: A) The plan was unveiled in the meeting….
Does Acquisition Cost Reduce CLV? No
Marketing suffers from serious definitional problems which undermine the communication function of metrics. For example, Does Acquisition Cost Reduce CLV? I therefore recommend a step forward; lets all exclude acquisition costs from customer lifetime value (CLV) calculations. CLV Is The Net Present Value Of A Customer Relationship Customer lifetime value is the net present value…
Market Share is Malarkey
Students, teachers, managers, and commentators all love market share. Many think a reasonable business goal is to increase market share. My only question is: Why? To use a Joe Biden word, Market Share is Malarkey. [This was written in 2012, but Joe Biden phrases still work now in 2021]. Market Share Is Not The Same…