In one of his newsletters, Christopher CS Penn reminds us that everything can be measured nowadays when it comes to marketing. And that if there is a lack of data, it is not because data does not exist, it is because we don’t know how to use it. In the era of digital, we have tremendous amounts of data that are just waiting to be exploited. I believe this just does not only apply to marketing – it almost applies to everything nowadays.
“I don’t believe there are things that cannot be measured. Everything can be measured. The question is whether or not we’re willing to invest the appropriate amount of time, effort, and money to measure well.”
“Let’s take brand as an example. What’s the value or strength of a brand? Brand market research has existed for decades and has proven, unimpeachable techniques for measuring the strength of the brand. For example, do a telephone poll of thousands of consumers in a representative sample and conduct unaided recall tests like “Name your favorite brand of soda to drink”.“
Thus, the important conclusion is that “The honest, ugly reality is that when someone says something can’t be measured in marketing, what they’re really saying is they’re unwilling to make the necessary investment to measure that thing. Market research, properly done, costs a lot of money – tens of thousands of dollars if you use a good market research firm. NPS data is pricey. Collecting all that data across your enterprise costs time, talent, money, and commitment.“
I believe this applies beyond marketing: nowadays if someone says something cannot be measured, it is probably because we don’t want to make the effort – or spend the money – to measure it. Data is there, or can be captured with some effort.
