Marketing Performance Management Benchmark Report

MARKETING
PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT
Marketing 
Performance
Table of Contents Management
Study 2016
3 Introduction 88 Moving Forward
11 Planning Your Journey 94 About VisionEdge Marketing
20 Excellence as a Direction 95 About Demand Metric
33 Discovering Insights 96 Appendix A: Methodology
69 Managing Your Journey 101 Appendix B: Data Summary
MPM Study: 2016 © 2016 VisionEdge Marketing, Inc. and Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.! 2
Marketing 
Performance
Introduction Management
Study 2016
On June 12, 1881, an expedition bound for the North Pole, commanded
by naval officer George De Long, abandoned their ship that had been stuck
fast in the Polar ice for nearly two years. When the USS Jeanette sank the
next day, the men of the expedition were left to make a long trek southward
across the icecap in an effort to rescue themselves.
After eight days of difficult progress, De Long measured their advancement,

and the results were alarming. De Long was certain his sextant was faulty
or his reading was incorrect. But the result showed the expedition was at
the northernmost point of the entire journey, north even of the latitude where
the Jeanette sunk.
Despite a steady march southward, the expedition failed to progress,

because the icepack they were trekking across was drifting north faster than
De Long’s men were moving south*.
* “In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeanette”. Hampton Sides, pp. 253-254.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
In this 15th year of the Marketing Performance Management (MPM)

Benchmark study*, the story of the Jeanette Polar expedition serves as
an appropriate metaphor. for this year’s study.
Although what seems like progress, the results suggest that the ground
shifted under the feet of many of the top performing marketers where
MPM is concerned. This 2016 MPM Benchmark study conveys how some
progress over the past year was real, and some illusory. Measurement
without also validating that the metrics are right creates the appearance of
progress without really producing results. Marketing organizations that want
to earn or keep their seat at the corporate leadership table must focus on
both sides of the analytics coin: data and metrics.
This joint Marketing Performance Management Benchmark study conducted

by VisionEdge Marketing and Demand Metric, compares and contrasts best-
in-class marketing organizations with those in the middle of the pack and the
laggards. The findings are based on a survey administered online from * The 2013 and 2014 MPM
January 27 – February 29, 2016. During this period, 438 responses were studies were conducted by
collected, 366 of which were complete enough and qualified for inclusion in VisionEdge Marketing in
the analysis. association with ITSMA.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Finding Treasure on Your Journey
The purpose of this ongoing benchmarking study is to explore how

marketing organizations can achieve best-in-class performance
measurement and management, become recognized as a Center of
Excellence and experience the corresponding benefits.
This report details the results and insights from the analysis of
the 2016 MPM survey data. Only statistically valid data and
relationships between study variables were included in this
report. For more detail about the survey and its participants,
please refer to Appendix A.
This report is filled with keys to finding and unlocking

the treasure along your marketing excellence journey.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Key Point: Only a handful of !

marketers still earn top marks from the
C-Suite; the number of laggards declined
pushing up the number of marketers in the
middle of the pack. Even though the
marketers earning the A grade demonstrate
their impact on the business better than their
colleagues, they lost traction and momentum.!
!
This year’s study is a story about the middle-
of-the-pack, the Sales Enablers, encroached
on Best-in-Class territory previously only !
held by the Value Creators.!
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
The pivotal survey question in the MPM Benchmark study asks, “What grade would the CEO give the
marketing organization for its ability to demonstrate its value and contribution to the business?” This
question provides the data for segmenting respondents by grade (Figure 1). This year the number of
marketers earning a “B” grade increased while those earning an “A” remained relatively flat.
A 23%
“Value Creators”
B 41%
“Sales Enablers”
C 26%
“Campaign Producers”
D 10%
Figure 1: Using a 100 point scale, where 100 is the best, the ratio of grades marketers received from the CEO/
Division GM for their ability to demonstrate value and contribution to the business.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
This study has over its 15-year course tracked the grade trend (Figure 2). From 2015 to 2016 MPM more
marketers joined the ranks of the B’s. This year’s report tells the story of two journeys: How the B’s
drove their efforts forward and How the A’s, while still ahead, lost ground.
Grade: Historical Trend!

A!
60%!
B!
40%!
C!
20%!
D or
0%! lower!
2007! 2008! 2009! 2010! 2011! 2012! 2013! 2014! 2015! 2016!
Figure 2: The percentage of Value Creators remains flat over the past decade.
Even with steady if not growing pressure to measure and manage marketing’s performance, the current study
shows no steady rise in the average MPM “GPA”. Campaign Producers became Sales Enablers (B’s),
increasing the number of in the Middle of the Pack. Overall however, the multi-year trend is flat.
The increase in enabling technology and higher C-suite expectations haven’t been a sufficient catalyst
to create a rising trend.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
From data collected over the 15 year-history of this study we have been able to construct
personas for each grade segment:
A’s: The most strategic and data-driven group. Using their data and instruments, they are
navigating a precise course to a known destination of creating value for customers and the
business. They are focused on producing results or outcomes that matter. These best-in-class
marketers lead all others in terms of performance and are characterized as Value Creators.
B’s: This group understands the destination and even aspires to reach it, but they lack the
commitment to complete the journey. Their focus is doing right, such as demand generation,
without asking if demand generation is the right thing to do. They see themselves as servants of
the sales team, and as such, these middle-of-the-pack marketers and act as Sales Enablers.
C’s and D’s or lower: This largely directionless group doesn’t fully understand that
there is journey to make. They find themselves drifting, pushed about by the unseen currents
to which they resign their fate. Their focus is on activity, but not linked to results. They function
as service providers or and internal agency to the organization, producing outputs on demand.
Compared to other segments profiled, these marketers are Laggards in terms of performance
and this marketing personas is labeled Campaign Producers.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
One of the characteristics that separates the personas from each other is the perception the C-Suite has of the
Marketer’s knowledge of the business. Value Creators possess greater business knowledge and act as
business people first, and marketers second. Despite their slippage this year, Value Creators remain ahead
of the pack in understanding the core business. This understanding of the business provides vital guidance
to these marketers and facilitates their ability to measure their value and contribution to the business.
% Agreement: Marketing staff has knowledge of the business!
71%! 73%!
68%!
59%! 60%!
50%!
41%! 43%!
36%!
2014! 2015! 2016!
Campaign Producers! Sales Enablers! Value Creator!
Figure 3: The Value Creators scores fell, while the Sales Enablers scores rose. Campaign Producers continue to
trail behind. There is still room for improvement for everyone.
Planning Your Excellence
JOURNEY
Marketing 
Performance
Planning Your Journey Management
Study 2016
It Starts With a Plan
Key Point: “A goal !

without a plan is just a wish.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. !
!
The Middle-of-the-Pack Sales
Enablers made AND implemented
a plan.!
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Measuring Contribution
To succeed with MPM, a marketing organization has to make measurement a priority. Any organization
whose “heart” isn’t in the expedition to excellence will see only marginal success at best, and more likely,
failure. Measuring marketing’s value and contribution remains important (Figure 4); but the importance that
these personas attach to MPM is virtually unchanged over the past four years of this study. As you will see,
success with MPM takes more than simply declaring that it’s important.
Importance of Measuring Marketing's Value & Contribution: !

1=Not at all important; 10=Extremely important!
9.2! 9.0! 8.9!

8.7!
8! 7.9! 7.7! 8.0!
7.1! 7.0! 7.0! 7.0!
2013! 2014! 2015! 2016!

Campaign Producers! Sales Enablers! Value Creators!
Figure 4: Lackluster headway despite continued emphasis on MPM by all groups.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Excelling at MPM requires discipline and a plan. While Value Creators continue to work a plan, it is the Sales
Enablers that invested energy in an MPM plan (Figure 5). The number of Sales Enablers that created an
MPM plan increased 16 percent in one year!
% Agreement: Marketing has a well-defined improvement plan.!
74%! 72%! 70%!

64%!
51%!
48%!
39%! 39%!
36%!
2014! 2015! 2016!

Figure 5: Agreement about the planning proficiency of Campaign Producers remains well below that of Value
Creators and Sales Enablers.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Key Point: The Sales Enablers, the !

Middle-of-the-Pack segment, is the only
group that experienced increased satisfaction
with their performance management abilities. !
Marketing organizations serve their organizations best when the scope of

their planning extends to the business at large, not just marketing.
Planning at this level of maturity requires that marketing track and measure its
performance and use the data it collects to improve its own operation, the
business, and to predict revenue.
The Sales Enablers are the only group (see Figure 6) that experienced
increased satisfaction with their performance measurement and data abilities;
while the Value Creator’s satisfaction for these same capabilities declined.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
2016: Satisfaction with Marketing's Ability to:!
7.3!
Track and measure performance! 6.3!
4.3!
7.7!
Improve marketing performance using data! 6.6!
4.7!
7.4!
Improve business performance using data! 6.5!
4.5!
7.4!
Create insights & predictions using data! 6.2!
4.5!
Value Creators! Sales Enablers! Campaign Producers!
Figure 6: 2016 satisfaction by group for performance measurement and data abilities
2015: Satisfaction with Marketing's Ability to:!

7.1!
Track and measure performance! 5.6!
4.0!
7.4!
Improve marketing performance using data! 5.5!
4.3!
7.3!
Improve business performance using data! 5.4!
4.1!
Figure 7: 2015 Satisfaction by group for performance measurement and data abilities.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Impact on Business
Having an impact on the business is far more important than
merely ROI. The more unclear leadership is about marketing’s
impact, the greater the risk to the marketing function. MPM executed
well lifts the fog around marketing’s impact, allowing leaders to Key Point:
understand how Marketing generates new customers, impacts Sales Enablers
loyalty, contributes to revenue, grows market share, creates category
ownership - how Marketing creates value.
and Campaign
Producers made
Even though the marketers earning A’s, the Value Creators,   good headway on
are still superior at demonstrating their impact on the business;
they lost traction and momentum this year while  
measuring their
the Sales Enablers and Campaign Producers (B’s and C’s) made contribution to
headway (Figure 6). business and the
Value Creators held
This year the Value Creators experienced a sharp decline, a 12%
regression from last year’s study, in the leadership team’s perception their ground.!
of their impact to the business. This decline signals that the terrain
on which Value Creators stand shifted faster than they
progressed.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
% Strongly Agree: It is clear to the leadership team !
how marketing impacts the business!
63%!
51%!
41%! 40%! 2013!
2014!
26%! 2015!
11%! 23%! 24%!
6%! 7%! 2016!
4%! 14%!
Figure 8: The four year trend for how clear it is to the leadership team how each persona impacts the business.
For the first time in three years, the gap between how clear Marketing’s impact is to the leadership
team for Value Creators and their Sales Enablers and Campaign Producers colleagues narrowed. It’s
not enough for marketers to measure performance; marketers must also effectively communicate their
results to the leaders who approve marketing funds. Even though the Sales Enablers and Campaign
Producers advanced in this area; they must find a way to convey how they impact the business to their
leadership (Figure 8). Value Creators, take notice, your progress on this front dipped.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Value Creators continue to lead on being able to impact business results; all personas need to improve on
their ability connect their work to business results.
2016: % Segment Members Showing Improvement !

in Key Business Results!
72%!
Revenue growth! 56%!
35%!
72%!
Marketing contribution to pipeline! 49%!
26%!
48%!
Win rate! 38%!
17%!
48%!
Share of wallet! 35%! 48%!
50%!
Retain customers! 33%!
27%!
72%!
Acquire net new customers! 57%!
36%!
59%!
Increase inquiry rate*! 48%!
20%!
57%!
Improve customer loyalty*! 41%!
30%!
78%!
Generate net new opps*! 64%!
38%!
Figure 9: Value Creators produce greater business results than their counterparts. *Data added to 2016 report.
Following the Direction of
EXCELLENCE
Marketing 
Performance
Following Direction Management
Study 2016
How the marketing team aligns itself with what is important to the business remains a critical differentiator
between the personas. Selecting the right metrics comes as a result of marketers knowing which business
outcomes matter to the C-Suite and business leaders, then aligning marketing to these outcomes. Value
Creators still remain more in tune with which metrics business leaders value.
Confidence marketing knows the metrics leaders care about: !

1=Not at all confident; 10=extremely confident!
8.4! 8.3!
7.9! 7.9!
6.9! 6.8! 7.1!
6.5!
5.9!
5.4! 5.1! 5.4!
2013! 2014! 2015! 2016!

Figure 10: Sales Enablers are actively addressing selecting the right metrics.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Marketers aligned to the business are better positioned to select metrics that resonate with the leadership
team. As the Value Creators scenario reflects, failure to practice vigilance on selecting the right metrics
will result in marketing drifting backward when it thinks it is standing still, or even progressing.
Key Point: Measuring marketing’s value remains a top !

priority; the slippery slope is selecting the right metrics.!
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Data Proficiency
 
While the Value Creators lost MPM ground in some areas, they remain more proficient at making data central
to strategic decision-making. The bigger surprise is that over the course of the study’s 15-year history, Value
Creators were the undisputed leader in making data-driven, strategic decisions. This year, the Sales Enablers
improvement over last year demonstrates their increased focus on data and how to use it.
How Marketing's Use of Data Facilitates Better Decision-Making!

1 = Very Poorly; 10 = Very Well!
8.2!
CEO! 6.7!
5.2!
7.7!
CFO/Finance! 6.6!
4.8!
8.1!
BU Leader! 6.9!
6.7!
8.0!
Sales! 7.0!
5.1!
Figure 11: Data use and influence on business decisions, by MPM persona
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
This year, the Sales Enablers demonstrated that they are not to be left behind. As of this year, there is almost
no difference between Value Creators and Sales Enablers on the use of data to make decisions. Once
again, the Value Creators experience a backward slide in a key category.
% Agreement: Marketing is good at using data to make strategic

decisions & recommendations !
94%!
86%! 82%! 84%! 86%!
72%!
63%! 66%!
58%!
52%! 50%!
38%!
2013! 2014! 2015! 2016!

Figure 12: Trend by persona for use of data.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
The Sales Enablers still reside in the murky middle ground of strategic decision-making, between data usage
and educated guessing. This group, however, made significant gains in their data proficiency. Campaign
Producers continue to struggle with becoming data-to-insights driven.
While it is important to understand how well marketing is using data, it is also essential to understand the
perception this proficiency has on the marketing organization.
Leverage
DATA
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Key Point: Value Creators progress on data usage is !

mixed year-to-year; but they remain significantly ahead of
their counterparts. Sales Enablers and Campaign Producers found
solid footing on the data usage front.!
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
For each application of marketing data, the deltas between personas remains substantial, ranging from 13 to 26
percent (Figure 13), with the greatest delta belonging to “Making strategic decisions”. Value Creators are better
by a factor of three to five at data usage.
2016: % Strong Agreement that Marketing is Good at Using Data to:!
51%!
Make strategic decisions! 25%!
12%!
Improve effectiveness of achieving 49%!

34%!
its objectives! 15%!
42%!
Make course adjustments! 26%!
8%!
42%!
Improve operational efficiency! 25%!
10%!
Figure 13: Best-in-class marketers’ prowess in using data is unmatched.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Comparing this year to last year, Sales Enablers and Campaign Producers made big gains in data usage
proficiency.
2015: % Strong Agreement that Marketing is Good at Using Data to:!
47%!
Make strategic decisions! 9%!
3%!
Improve effectiveness of achieving 58%!

10%!
its objectives!
6%!
53%!
Make course adjustments! 16%!
10%!
36%!
Improve operational efficiency! 9%!
11%!
Figure 14: Use of data by persona for 2015.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Key Point: Data-to-insights driven organizations expect!

marketing to find and apply analytics to insights to drive
satisfaction, loyalty and revenue. !
Customer Insights
Marketing has a responsibility to gain a deep
understanding of the organization’s customers, to
share accurate, timely customer insights and use
these insights to gain a competitive advantage. Value
Creators use data more effectively to understand
customer vital signs, Sales Enablers made strong
strides at improving customer insights, particularly
around customer experience and optimizing content
by buying stage (Figure 15).
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Not at all Extremely

2015 - Effectively using data for: effective 1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6! 7! 8! 9! effective 10!
Defining the customer buying process! ! ! ! !
Creating propensity to purchase models! ! ! ! !
Determining customers at risk of defection! ! ! ! ! !
Understanding customer experience! ! ! ! ! !
Creating buyer personas! ! ! !
Campaign Sales Value

LEGEND: __
Producers Enablers Creators
Not at all Extremely

2016 - Effectively using data for: effective 1! effective 10!
2! 3! 4! 5! 6! 7! 8! 9!
Understanding the customer buying journey! ! ! ! !
Determining customers at risk of defection! ! ! ! !
Understanding the customer experience! ! ! ! ! !
Creating buyer personas! ! ! ! ! !
Gaining customer insights! ! ! !
Orchestrating content delivery by stage!
Optimizing content for buying stages!

LEGEND: __
Figure 15: Heat maps capture the year-to-year change in how effectively the three groups use data to better
understand their customers.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
What can you learn from these heat maps? Campaign Producers scores in every category fall below seven,
while Value Creators scores are no lower than seven.
Creating value requires understanding both the business and the customer. Every organization should
count on marketing to serve as the clearinghouse for customer insights. The more effectively Marketing can
leverage data to provide customer insights, the better it can serve as a Value Creator.
Key Point: The best performing marketing teams aren’t !

one-dimensional. !
!
Instead, they are experts at marketing AND well versed in all

aspects of the businesses they serve, having a functional
understanding of the business model, financial, accounting and
operational aspects of the business. !
!
Value Creators continue to be stronger at business acumen than

their colleagues.!
INSIGHTS
Behind Success
Marketing 
Performance
Insights Behind Success Management
Study 2016
A central hypothesis for this year’s study played out. Marketing

organizations that are more proficient at using data to make
strategic and investment decisions are also more:
Credible
Influential
Relevant to the organization
Demonstrate greater business acumen
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Understand the Business
There was a time when being good at marketing was enough for
Marketing to serve the business well. This is no longer true. The
importance of business acumen for marketers is impossible to exaggerate.
As the study over the years reveals, marketers that understand the
businesses they serve are able to fully contribute to the way that
business creates value. Marketers who don’t seek to understand the
business and stay current on that understanding drastically hinder their
ability to create results. The key to marketing influence and
participation in strategic decision-making is business acumen.
The following charts provide insight into how Marketing’s use of data
affects the perception of Marketing by key members of the organization.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Key Point: The C-suite’s !

perception of marketing is critical !
to securing resources and funding. The
CFO is the greatest critic for Sales Enablers
and Campaign Producers.!
!
The Value Creators are the only group that
garners the CEO as a consistent champion.
The CEO’s support enables Marketing to
expand its influence in the organization. !
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Big changes came in the perception of Marketers use of data to demonstrate business acumen. The
business acumen gap among the personas closed considerably. If the degree of closure becomes a
trend, the gap may all but disappear within a year.
How Marketing's Use of Data Demonstrates its Business Acumen!

8.2!
CEO! 6.5!
5.0!
8.0!
CFO/Finance! 6.5!
4.8!
7.8!
BU Leader! 6.6!
5.1!
8.0!
Sales! 6.8!
5.1!
Figure 16: Data use and business acumen, by MPM persona.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
It may seem intuitive, but the data now validates the hypothesis. Marketers who are more adept at using
data have greater credibility.
How Marketing's Use of Data Enhances its Credibility!

8.5!
CEO! 6.8!
5.2!
7.9!
CFO/Finance! 6.7!
4.8!
8.0!
BU Leader! 7.0!
5.3!
8.1!
Sales! 7.0!
6.7!
Figure 17: Data use to enhance credibility, by MPM persona.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
And the data also validates the proposition that Marketers who are more adept at using data are perceived
to be more relevant. .
How Marketing's Use of Data Proves its Relevancy!

8.4!
CEO! 7.0!
5.1!
8.0!
CFO/Finance! 6.7!
4.8!
7.9!
BU Leader! 6.8!
5.4!
8.1!
Sales! 7.0!
5.3!
Figure 18: Data use to prove relevancy, by MPM segment.
Support from 
CEO
Marketing 
Performance
Discovering Insights Management
Study 2016
The data in Figures 16 through 18 permit the creation of a new comparison, one that shows the primary
champion or critic for each MPM persona. This determination is relative, simply comparing which of the four
functional areas in Figures 16 through 18 rated each segment the highest, and the lowest (Table 1).
MPM Segment Most Consistent Critic Most Consistent Champion
Value Creators BU Leader CEO
Sales Enablers CFO Sales
Campaign Producers CFO Sales
Table 1: Relative critics and champions for each MPM segment.
The Value Creators are the only group that has the CEO as a consistent champion. Having the support
of the CEO expands marketing’s influence in the organization.
While the Sales Enablers and Campaign Producers are supported by Sales who benefit from these persona’s
efforts even if no direct contribution is established. These two personas, however, have a more immediate
concern. Their greatest critic is the CFO. These two groups, the Campaign Producers, and to a lesser
degree Sales Enablers, are the personas most perceived as a cost-center rather than a value center.
When the CFO is the consistent critic, the marketing budget is consistently at risk.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
With few exceptions, for all segments, it is the CFO/Finance function that holds Marketing in the lowest esteem
when it comes to data usage perception. CMOs are wise to pay special attention to the CFO relationship and
cultivate the best possible understanding of marketing’s contribution. It is far better to have the CFO as a
champion rather than a critic when budgets or budget exceptions are up for discussion.
Key Point: Gain the CFO as a !

champion by making a difference to
business results. Over half of Value
Creators improved their impact on business
results on six of the nine key business
measures. Sales Enablers and Campaign
Producers made good headway for
improving their impact on business results.!
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Marketing teams create value by moving the business needles listed in Figure 19. As expected, the Value
Creators show the highest level of improvement in their ability to impact key business results– in every area
except “Increase business with existing customers” where they are tied with the Sales Enablers segment.
2016: % Segment Members Showing Improvement in Key Business Results!

72%!
35%!
72%!
26%!
48%!
Win rate! 38%!
17%!
48%!
Share of wallet! 48%!
35%!
50%!
27%!
72%!
36%!
59%!
Increase inquiry rate*! 48%!
20%!
57%!
Improve customer loyalty*! 41%!
30%!
78%!
Generate net new opps*! 64%!
38%!
Figure 19: Over half of Value Creators showed improvement in six of these nine areas.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
It’s not all good news for Value Creators! Compared to results in the 2015 study, the degree of improvement
for Value Creators declined during 2015. By comparison, the Sales Enablers and Campaign Producers
improved this year over last .
2015: % Improvement in Key Business Results!

79%!
43%!
73%!
21%!
55%!
Win rate! 48%!
19%!
55%!
Share of wallet! 40%!
25%!
55%!
16%!
79%!
34%!
Figure 20: Improvement in key business result areas for 2015, by persona.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
This particular set of data continues to reinforce the metaphor for this
story. The Value Creators may still be marching in what seems like a
forward direction, but they lost ground. In last year’s study, the average
percentage improvement in all areas for Value Creators was 66 percent.
For this year’s study, the average percentage improvement on business
results over all was:
Value Creators: 62 percent
Sales Enablers: 48 percent
Campaign Producers: 29 percent
Earlier we noted that measuring Marketing contribution remains a priority and how vital it is to for Marketing to
clearly convey its impact on the business. The study continues to find that Marketers who impact business
results tend to be better at measuring the impact of their efforts on the achievement of business goals. !
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Measuring Goal Achievement
 
Sales Enablers and Campaign Producers made significant progress from the previous to the current MPM
study in being able to measure their contribution to achieving business goals. From the 2015 study, Sales
Enablers jumped 15 percent for this measurement, and Campaign Produces 18 percent, both worthy increases.
Even so, they still lag far behind the Value Creators. When it comes to the perception of true Marketing
contribution to business goals, Value Creators maintained a sizeable lead (Figure 21). All segments must
understand that their best efforts may be in vain if they are unable to connect their results to the
achievement of business goals.
% Agreement: Marketing is good at measuring its contribution to

achieving business goals !
93%! 92%!
Campaign Producers!
68%! Sales Enablers!
53%!
45%! Value Creators!
27%!
2015! 2016!
Figure 21: Sales Enablers and Campaign Producers found firmer measurement ground while the Value Creators
held steady.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Key Point: Being able to measure impact, contribution, !

and value requires selecting the right metrics. !
!
Persistence in measuring what really matters to the business is
characteristic of best-in-class marketers. It is the first link in the
MPM chain that leads to improvement, results and credibility.!
Select The Right
METRICS
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
VisionEdge Marketing has a well-accepted metrics framework that depicts the relationship and hierarchy of
marketing metrics that encompass activity/effort, output/counting, operational/efficiency, outcome/
effectiveness, leading indicators and predictive. While all metrics categories have value, their value as
performance indicators increases from left to right, and this progression represents increasing maturity.  
The MPM study measured the usage of metric categories by the MPM personas.
© 1999-2016 VisionEdge Marketing. All Rights Reserved.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
The categories of metrics this study measured include:
Activity: metrics associated with production, such as number of press releases produced, blog posts,
articles contributed, email campaigns implemented, etc.
Output: metrics, such as open rates, click-through rates, response rates, trade show leads, event
attendees, fans, followers, mentions, views, downloads, etc.
Operational: metrics for marketing program time and delivery, headcount to program spend, headcount
per activity, budget to spend, campaign ROI, cost per lead, cost per event, etc.
Outcome: metrics, such as marketing pipeline contribution, marketing sourced deals, rate of customer
acquisition, purchase frequency, lifetime value, customer satisfaction, category ownership, average deal
size, total contract value, etc.
Leading indicators: metrics, such as share of preference, share of wallet, net new strategic partnering
opportunities, etc.
Predictive: includes metrics, such as propensity to purchase, campaign lift, likelihood to defect, etc.
© 1999-2016 VisionEdge Marketing. All Rights Reserved.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
It’s not a question of data or of metrics, as there is no lack of either (Figure 22). The key is the right mix of
metrics. The progress shown by Sales Enablers in metrics usage is the best explanation for the
advances made by this segment across most fronts in this study.
For each category of metrics, except Activity, Sales Enablers are within single-digit percentages of Value
Creators. And Activity metrics is the one category in which lagging can indicate maturity, as these often serve
as “vanity” metrics that measure something, but without indicating true performance. The most advanced
categories of metrics – Leading Indicators and Predictive – see greatest use by the Value Creators, but
the Sales Enablers gained ground.
2016: Use of Marketing Performance Metric Categories!
91%! 92%! 93%! 91%!

88%! 85%!
78%! 77%! 77%! 80%!
74%!
63%!
69%! 70%!
61%!
Sales Enablers!
42%! 39%! Campaign Producers!
Activity! Output! Operational! Outcome! Leading Predictive!

indicators!
Figure 22: Value Creators lead in the usage of every metric category, except Output.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
2015: Use of Marketing Performance Metric Categories!
100%!100%!
92%! 88%! 92%! 95%! 95%!
85%! 81%! Value Creators!
71%!
60%! 57%!
40%! 40%!
Campaign Producers!
35%!
27%! 28%!
Activity! Output! Operational! Outcome! Leading Predictive!

indicators!
Figure 23: Value Creators lead in the usage of every metric category, except one.
Compared to the 2015 results, in the 2016 study all of the MPM personas showed year-to-year increases in the
usage of these most advanced metric categories, but the Sales Enablers posted yearly increases of 42 and
30 percent respectively, massive gains in just 12 months (Figure 22).
Campaign Producers continue to rely most heavily on Activity and Output metrics, the least useful
metrics in the framework. For Sales Enablers, the top metric category once again is Output. Value Creators
continue to lead in Outcome metrics, showing that they are indeed more mature in their selection and use of
metrics.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
What is encouraging about the metrics landscape in this current study year is
the apparent progress made by all personas in the use of the most leading edge
metrics category: Predictive. The same is true for the second most leading
edge metrics category: Leading Indicators. Only the most mature MPM
practitioners use these types of metrics. One of the reasons they have so
much value is because, unlike the other metrics categories, which are
essentially a look in the rear-view mirror, Leading Indicators and Predictive
metrics help marketers forecast the future.
As important as maturity is in the use of these metrics categories, knowing what

metrics resonate with the leadership team is essential. Figure 10 reveals that
the Best-in-Class Value Creators and the Middle-of-the-Pack Sales Enablers
know what metrics matter most to the leadership team.
Another key differentiator between the MPM personas is in the area of setting
quantifiable performance targets for marketing’s programs and objectives.
Once again, the Sales Enablers and Campaign Producers gained traction
and momentum compared to the Value Creators for setting performance
targets. Figures 24 and 25 compare the current year’s MPM study to 2015.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Another key differentiator between the MPM personas is in the area of setting quantifiable performance targets
for marketing’s programs and objectives. Once again, the Sales Enablers and Campaign Producers gained
traction and momentum compared to the Value Creators for setting performance targets, when comparing the
current year’s MPM study (Figure 24) to the findings from the 2015 study (Figure 25).
2016: Extent to Which Marketing Sets Quantifiable !

Performance Targets for Programs & Objectives!
33%!
Nearly all! 21%!
9%!
49%!
Many, but not all! 47%!
32%!
7%!
Few! 21%!
30%!
9%!
Not usually set! 10%!
27%!
2%!
I don't know! 1%!
2%!
Value creators! Sales enablers! Campaign producers!
Figure 24: The percentage of marketers who set quantifiable performance targets for many, but not all, increased
compared to 2015 for all MPM personas.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
In 2015, Best-in-class marketers, the Value Creators, were far ahead of the pack for establishing quantifiable
performance targets for most of their programs and objectives!
2015: Extent to Which Marketing Sets Quantifiable !

Performance Targets for Programs & Objectives!
35%!
Nearly all! 10%!
8%!
34%!
Many, but not all! 33%!
19%!
15%!
Few! 40%!
43%!
8%!
Not usually set! 17%!
25%!
8%!
I don't know! 0%!
5%!
Value creators! Sales enablers! Campaign producers!
Figure 25: Programs with quantifiable performance targets by persona for 2015.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
The foundation of MPM is the measurement of true performance indicators. Marketing has always had the
ability to measure things, but not everything it can measure has meaning, and often the data for the most
meaningful things to measure is elusive. Persistence in measuring what really matters to the business is
characteristic of best-in-class marketers. It is the first link in the MPM chain that leads to improvement, results
and credibility. Value Creators have greater mastery of selecting metrics that measure marketing’s value
(Figure 26).
Marketing has mastered selecting metrics that measure its value !
7.1
“Value Creators”
6.4
“Sales Enablers”
4.6
Figure 26: The value metrics selection gap. 1 = No mastery; 10 = Complete mastery.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Key Point: Value !

Creators (A’s) have greater
mastery of selecting metrics that
measure marketing’s value. This
group continues to lead in
Outcome metrics, showing that
they are indeed more mature in
their selection and use of metrics.
Sales Enablers (B’s) and
Campaign Producers (C’s)
gained traction and momentum
for setting performance !
targets.!
Use Your Marketing
DASHBOARD
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Key Point: Improvement in and satisfaction with !

marketing measurement and reporting, marketing’s ability
to justify its value, and how well marketing metrics measure what
links marketing’s results to corporate business correlate to how
well Marketers use dashboards. !
!
Value Creators are still the most proficient with dashboard
applications. Campaign Producers and Sales Enablers moved
ahead in their use of dashboards. A gulf remains where having a
dashboard and using a dashboard to enable MPM activities is
concerned.!
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Metrics inform decision-making and influence action when they are expressed through a dashboard.
Dashboards are communications, management and accountability tools, and therefore are a crucial part of the
MPM landscape. The Value Creators returned to 2013 level. Dashboard usage for this group had been
flat since 2013. Dashboard usage saw strong adoption by the two segments that most need to use
them: Campaign Producers and Sales Enablers.
4-Year Trend: Marketing Dashboard Use!
80%! 78%! 79%!

73%! 73%!
68%!
61%!
56%! 53%!
44%! 45%!
41%!
2013! 2014! 2015! 2016!

Figure 27: Sales Enablers now rival Value Creators in dashboard usage.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
It is possible that the dashboard capabilities built in to many of the software tools now in common use by
marketers are a reason for this adoption surge. In fact, this current year’s MPM study examined the type of
dashboard functionality in use, and those results are presented in Figure 30.
Dashboards enable monitoring, analysis and communication of several critical MPM activities, and Figures
28-29 presents heat maps from this year and the 2015 studies of proficiency in using dashboards for the
activities listed.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
In 2015, Value Creators were best at leveraging dashboards to achieve specific objectives.
How well the Not well at

all
2015! Extremely
well
marketing dashboard enables: 1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6! 7! 8! 9! 10!
Monitor/measure marketing objectives !

aligned to business outcomes! ! ! ! !
Track performance of core marketing !

strategies & processes! ! ! ! !
Analyze performance of campaigns!

or other marketing activities! ! !
Track marketing metrics in real-time!

! !
Communicate to the C-suite marketing's

contribution to the business! !
Enable the C-suite to make!

business decisions!
Secure additional resources (people !

or budget) for marketing investments! 3!

LEGEND: __
Figure 28: How well each persona uses a dashboard for various capabilities in 2015.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
The Value Creators held onto their strength at leveraging dashboards to achieve specific objectives in 2016.
Sales Enablers pushed their efforts forward especially in using dashboards for three key areas:
alignment to outcomes, performance analysis, and enabling C-Suite decisions.!
How well the Not well at

all
2016! Extremely
well
marketing dashboard enables: 1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6! 7! 8! 9! 10!
Monitor/measure marketing objectives !

aligned to business outcomes! ! ! ! !
Track performance of core marketing !

strategies & processes! ! ! ! !
Analyze performance of campaigns!

or other marketing activities! ! !
Track marketing metrics in real-time!

! !
Communicate to the C-suite marketing's

contribution to the business! !
Enable the C-suite to make!

business decisions!
Secure additional resources (people !

or budget) for marketing investments!

LEGEND: __
Figure 29: How well each persona uses a dashboard for various capabilities in 2016.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
The use of a dashboard correlates to several important variables in this study. Table 2 highlights some of the
important MPM areas in which dashboard usage predicts better outcomes. Marketers that view a
dashboard as a “forced march” – something they must do but which has little value – miss the point entirely.
When dashboards are in use, they create accountability and collaboration that result in better MPM
outcomes, and not just marginally but in significant way.
Dashboard
Performance Category Dashboard in use
not in use
Percent reporting improvement in Marketing’s ability to measure & report its 2015 2016 2015 2016
contribution to the business: 57% 69% 49% 33%
Percent agreement that is very difficult or impossible to measure marketing’s

31% 33% 43% 59%
contribution to business outcomes:
Satisfaction with marketing’s ability to track & measure its performance

5.5 5.9 4.5 4.6
where 10 = Extremely satisfied
Satisfaction with marketing’s ability to justify marketing’s value

5.5 6.6 4.7 5.0
where 10 = Extremely satisfied:
How well marketing metrics measure things that link marketing’s results to
6.3 6.8 5.4 4.3
corporate business objectives where 10 = Extremely well:
Table 2: Key correlations to dashboard usage.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
This discussion of dashboards concludes with a look at the types of dashboard that marketers are deploying
(Figure 30). Customized dashboards are the most common. A solid quarter of marketers, however,
produce dashboards through their CRM or Marketing Automation platforms. This data on dashboard type
usage reflects the nature of performance metrics: the ideal set of marketing performance metrics for each
organization is unique. While some overlap will exist, every organization should customize its MPM metrics
set and therefore its dashboard, and it is highly likely to require data from multiple sources to do so.
The Value Creators lead the pack when it comes to dashboard usage (Figure 27), but the usage of customized
dashboards using data from multiple sources is virtually tied for the three MPM study segments.
Type of Dashboard in Use!

One created/customized w/data from 42%!
multiple sources! 39%!
39%!
28%!
Automatically created by CRM or other! 25%!
16%!
Created via subscription to 3rd party 7%!
12%!
dashboard tool! 11%!
2%!
Other! 2%!
2%!
14%!
None! 18%!
30%!
7%!
I don't know! 4%!
2%!
Figure 30: Marketers use a variety of tools to produce a dashboard.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Key Point: MPM entails both a mind-set, and a skillset. !

Value Creators earn the best “grade” (an A) in part because
of they have more mastery of the MPM discipline. !
!
The Value Creators build more skills around insights from analytics
than their counterparts.!
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Invest in Skills
While MPM is a mind-set, it also entails a skill set. Value Creators earn the best “grade” (Figure 1) in part
because of skills: they have more mastery of the MPM discipline. Compared to Campaign Producers,
Value Creators are far more skilled at using data and analytics to improve effectiveness, align marketing
and select metrics that measure value (Table 3).
Area of Data & Analytics Mastery Campaign

Sales Enablers Value Creators
1 = no mastery; 10 = complete mastery Producers
Improving marketing effectiveness with analytics insights: 4.5 6.2 7.6
Using data to link marketing activity to business outcomes: 4.5 6.3 7.2
Selecting metrics that measure marketing’s value: 4.6 6.4 7.1
Analyzing & reporting on data: 5.2 6.5 7.5
Table 3: Significant variances in skills mastery exist.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
It is even more insightful that “Improving marketing effectiveness with analytics insights” was the top-ranked
area of mastery for Value Creators, but sixth on the list for the other two segments. Achieving MPM excellence
begins with commitment, but without mastery of these skills, Marketers will never achieve their MPM quest.
MANAGING
The Journey End-To-End
Marketing 
Performance
Managing the Journey Management
Study 2016
Manage Data and Metrics Well
We all know that Marketing is deluged with data. One goal of this study was
to learn whether the Value Creators do anything differently in regards to
performance management, particularly in terms of their ability to create and
use the following:
1.  Data Inventory which describes the format, location and source of
marketing and sales data, with how the data is accessed and updated.
2.  Metrics Catalog which defines each metric tracked by marketing and the
exact algorithm used to calculate them.
3.  Data Chains which illustrate the sequence and relationship of metrics that
form links between activity, output, operational and outcome metrics.
The study discovered that organizations that employ these three approaches
to performance management – Data Inventory, Metrics Catalog and Data
Chains – reach a level of MPM maturity that enables their marketing
performance management success.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Key Point: Add these three tools to your tool set – Data !
Inventory, Metrics Catalog and Data Chains – to achieve a
level of MPM maturity that helps ensure your marketing excellence. !
!
The use of any one or all of these data management approaches is
an excellent indicator of an organizations MPM capabilities.!
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
The use of the three data and metrics tools correlates to many aspects of the MPM study survey. There is a
relationship between these tools and the marketing team’s grade (Figure 30): in the sample of survey
respondents using any of these tools, the percentage of Value Creators in that sample is almost half, twice the
average for the full survey sample. On the other hand, in the sample of survey respondents NOT using any
one of these approaches, the percentage of Value Creators in that sample falls to 14 percent or less.
Marketers who earn the top scores employ these tools more than their counterparts.
Correlation: Data Inventory, Metrics Catalog & Data Chains to Grade!
49%! 51%! 49%!

48%! 46%!
44%! 42%!
37%! 37%! 38%! 37%!
34%!
23%!
14%! 16%! 14%!

10%! 12%!
Data Inventory! No Data Metrics Catalog! No Metrics Data Chains! No Data Chains!
Inventory! Catalog!
Figure 31: Use of these tools correlates to major differences in the grade.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Some other interesting correlations between the use of these data and metrics tools and MPM performance are
summarized in Table 4. Data/Metrics Chains and business acumen are strongly related. All three of these
are highly connected to dashboard usage. All three are important to setting quantifiable performance targets.
Performance Category Data Inventory

Data
Metrics Catalog
Metrics
Data Chains
Performance Category Data Chains
Inventory Catalog
YY N N Y
Y N N YY N
N
Percent agreement: marketing staff has knowledge of the business:
Percent agreement: marketing staff has
67%
67% 495
495 68%
68% 51%
51% 83%
83% 44%
44%
knowledge of the business (Fig. 20):
How well marketing metrics measure things
How well marketing metrics measure things that link marketing’s
that link marketing’s results to corporate 6.7 5.5 6.9 5.6 7.1 5.5
results to corporate
business business objectives
objectives where where
10 10= = Extremely well:
Extremely
6.7 5.5 6.9 5.6 7.1 5.5
well:
Confidence
Confidencemarketing knows which knows
marketing metrics/business
which outcomes the
metrics/business outcomes the CEO/CFO/BU 7.0 6.0 7.2 6.0 7.3 6.0
CEO/CFO/BU leaders care about where 10 = Extremely confident:
leaders care about where 10 = Extremely
7.0 6.0 7.2 6.0 7.3 6.0
confident:
Dashboard usage: 91% 54% 88% 60% 92% 62%

Dashboard usage (Figure 27): 91% 54% 88% 60% 92% 62%
Percent
Percent of marketing organizations
of marketing that set quantifiablethat
organizations performance
set
quantifiable performance targets for many or 83%
83% 33%
33% 90%
90% 37%
37% 91%
91% 40%
40%
targets for many or nearly all marketing programs:
nearly all marketing programs (Figure 24):
Percent of organizations where marketing
Percent of organizations where marketing serves as aoperates
model or
serves as a model or consistently as 48%
48% 15%
15% 48%
48% 17%
17% 54%
54% 18%
18%
consistently operates as
a CoE (Figure ):a CoE:
Presence of a marketing operations

Presence of a marketing operations function:
(Figure 31):
function
68%
68%
40%
40%
69%
69%
43%
43%
68%
68%
47%
47%
Table 4: MPM maturity is much higher when these data and metrics tools are in use.
Focus on Marketing
OPERATIONS
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Key Point: The presence of marketing operations has !

changed little over the past three years. While the Value
Creators have room for improvement, they are far ahead of Sales
Enablers in many key areas of marketing operations, especially in
regards to data management. !
!
Other gaps Sales Enablers and Campaign producers need to
close include strategic planning, intelligence and insights,
benchmarking, modeling and workflow processes.!
The Value Creators continue to lead in the use of marketing operations, however, this is another area in which
the Sales Enablers gained ground according to this most recent survey. Sales Enablers close their gap with
Value Creator by almost half (Figure 32).
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
The Value Creators continue to lead in the use of marketing operations, however, this is another area in which
the Sales Enablers gained ground according to this most recent survey. Sales Enablers close their gap with
Value Creators by almost half (Figure 32).
Presence of a Marketing Operations Function!
69%! 67%!
65%!
58%!
53%! 52%!
44%! 43%! 44%!
2014! 2015! 2016!
Figure 32: The presence of marketing operations has changed little over the past three years.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
It’s not a question of having the Marketing Ops function, but of what it does or doesn’t do. Marketing
operations (Ops) has a broad set of responsibilities, but these are not embraced with equal frequency by all
personas. Figure 33 shows the gaps that are greater than 10 percent in marketing operations responsibilities
between Value Creators and the rest of the pack: Data Management, Strategic Planning, Customer/Market/
Competitive Intelligence, Benchmarking, Analytics and Modeling; and Workflow Processes. Regardless of their
lead, Value Creators have room for improvement.
2016: Marketing Operations Gaps!

Value Creator/Sales Enabler Gap size > 10%!
83%!
Data management! 62%!
63%!
66%!
Strategic planning! 50%!
29%!
Customer, market, competitive intel 59%!
43%!
& research! 29%!
55%!
Benchmarking! 33%!
21%!
55%!
Analytics & predictive modeling! 26%!
25%!
Workflow process development & 52%!
36%!
documentation! 17%!
Figure 33: These gaps range from 16 to 29 percent.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Figure 34 shows the same data as Figure 33, but for the 2015 MPM study. Compared to the previous year,
Marketing Ops for the Sales Enablers gained momentum on a variety of MPM capabilities, but they lost
traction year-over-year on the data front. This year, the Marketing Ops for the Value Creators recharged their
efforts on the workflow processes. The Marketing Ops function lost ground for strategic planning for all
the personas.!
2015: Marketing Operations Gaps!

Value Creator/Sales Enabler Gap size > 10%!
77%!
Data management! 76%!
31%!
71%!
Strategic planning! 52%!
35%!
Customer, market, competitive intel 47%!
44%!
& research! 23%!
59%!
Benchmarking! 44%!
35%!
59%!
Analytics & predictive modeling! 40%!
27%!
Workflow process development & 53%!
60%!
documentation! 42%!
Figure 34: There are few bright spots in terms of year-to-year improvement.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
For reference purposes, here is a more detailed description of the Marketing Operations responsibilities  
shown in Figures 33 and 34.
1. Data management: considers collection storage, hygiene, access and effective use of data.
2. Strategic planning: measures the extent to which marketing is intentional about determining a  
direction aligned with corporate objectives, and then pursuing it.
3. Customer, market, competitive intelligence, research and insights: the gleaning of insights from  
data for each of these areas.
4. Benchmarking: identifying marketing best practices and opportunities for improvement via comparison  
to best-in-class marketing organizations.
5. Analytics & predictive modeling: marketing’s forecast of expected outcomes for things such as
predisposition to research, likelihood to defect, etc.
6. Workflow development & documentation: improving key marketing processes and then documenting  
the process improvements to facilitate adoption.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Key Point: Marketing !

organizations that are
more proficient at using data
to make strategic and
investment decisions are also
more credible, influential, and
relevant. !
Marketing Center of
EXCELLENCE
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Key Point: Marketing organizations that are serious about !

driving a consistent approach to facilitate agility and
excellence aim to establish Marketing as a Center of Excellence
(CoE). Marketing organizations that operate as a CoE utilize best
practices to create pathways to improvement. Why?!
!
A Marketing CoE enables collaboration that facilitates the adoption
of change by providing a platform for alignment, quality
improvement, and reduced costs. Marketing organizations who
operate as a CoE experience improve market differentiation and
higher customer satisfaction, and ultimately achieve greater market
leadership, revenue, profits and sustainability. This is where !
the Value Creators shine!!
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
In all of the MPM capabilities lay the foundation for marketing to serve as a
CoE. Organizations in pursuit of agility and excellence create and
implement CoEs.
A Center of Excellence refers to a team or entity that provides leadership,

fosters best practices, facilitates research, and enhances the skills needed
for a focused area in order to drive business results.
A CoE provides the entire organization with visibility into quality and
performance parameters for the focus area.
A CoE is characterized by its ability to help the organization employ

best practices to improve internal business processes, customer-
centricity, market leadership, and market innovation.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
All three Marketing MPM personas made big gains this year in the C-Suite perception of marketing as a
Center of Excellence. Furthermore, the Value Creators improved by a higher percentage than the other
personas, based on the delta between each segment. The C-suite’s perception of Marketing is critical to
securing resources and funding. The view in Figure 35 of marketing as a CoE is probably more perception
than reality given the narrative this year’s study data is yielding. Regardless, the Value Creators definitely still
lead the pack.
Marketing exemplifies or functions as a COE!
60%!
46%! Campaign Producers!

19%! 18%!
2%! 12%! 8%!
2014! 2015! 2016!
Figure 35: The trend over the last three years for the leadership team’s perception that marketing exemplifies a
Center of Excellence.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Key Point: If you want influence, you need credibility. Value !

Creators enjoy the highest credibility among all MPM
personas. Selecting the right metrics, setting quantifiable
performance targets, and operating as a CoE are practices that
contribute to Marketing’s perception of credibility.!
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Credibility
Taken all together, MPM capabilities facilitate marketing’s credibility within the organization. The credibility rating
correlates to a number of key variables in this study, first and foremost the grade. Value Creators enjoy the
highest credibility among all MPM personas. The pattern of the Value Creators losing ground while the Sales
Enablers and Campaign Producers gained ground also holds true with the credibility ratings (Figure 36).
The Credibility of Marketing!
8.1 7.8
6.7
6.0
5.2
4.5
2015 2016 2015 2016 2015 2016
“Value Creators” “Sales Enablers” “Campaign Producers”
Figure 36: Value Creators still lead the credibility rating, but not as much as last year. 10 = Highest Credibility
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
How does a marketing organization increase its credibility rating? Upon analysis, three practices contribute
to Marketing’s perception of credibility: selecting the right metrics, setting quantifiable performance
targets, and operating as a CoE (Table 5). Table 5 provides a blueprint for what Marketing must do to enjoy
greater credibility. High credibility is not optional for marketers that wish to serve as influencers and
leaders. With credibility comes a seat at the big decisions table where corporate strategy is
determined. Marketers who wish to gain or keep their seat at this table must gain proficiency at MPM to
do so.
Low Credibility High Credibility

Performance Category Ratings: Ratings:
from 1 to 7 from 8 to 10
How well marketing metrics measure things that link marketing’s results to
5.5 7.5
corporate business objectives where 10 – Extremely well:
Confidence that marketing knows which metrics/business outcomes the CEO/
5.8 7.7
CFO/BU leaders care about where 10 = Extremely confident:
Percent of time marketing sets quantifiable performance targets for many or
50% 82%
nearly all programs & objectives:
Percent of marketing organizations that consistently operate as a CoE or
24% 50%
serves as a model for what constitutes a CoE:
Table 5: These correlations provide strong clues as to what causes marketing’s credibility rating to rise or fall.
MOVING  
Forward In Your Journey
Marketing 
Performance
Moving Forward Management
Study 2016
Forging Ahead
Every marketing organization cannot be a Value Creator, but every marketing persona can aspire to make
progress toward better performance, contribution and results. Those who have already achieved this status
should understand from this year’s study that they must remain ever vigilant and that gains are lost simply by
standing still.
Key Point:
Alignment and
accountability
provide true north.!
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
The takeaways from this year’s MPM Benchmark study are:
Leaders of the Pack took held their lead but took their eye off the ball and got complacent, costing  
them hard earned ground. This study is a story about the Middle-of-the-Pack who surged their  
progress forward.
Every study persona improved at the data part of MPM, but not at improving business results with  
that data. Why? The study’s data suggests it is because they still don’t understand the business.
Marketers are busy measuring “stuff” and they have dashboards, but they’re not necessarily selecting  
the right metrics.
Many of the metrics that marketing tracks are disconnected and disjointed.
Marketing operations exists for many organizations, but it is not doing the “right” things to help with
performance management and measurement.
There is much talk about being a CoE, but all the personas need to mobilize their transformative efforts.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
The actions that the marketing organization must take to make real progress with MPM include:
Know the business, not just marketing. With solid business acumen Marketing can more easily see  
and take advantage of opportunities and manage potential pitfalls. Business acumen is an essential  
skill for marketers who want to earn a reputation for being a Value Creator.
Best-in-class marketers excel at alignment and accountability. They know to align with business
outcomes that matter to the C-suite, and accordingly, they know what to measure. Value Creators  
assure direct-line-of-site between marketing activities and business results. Marketing must derive  
its work plan from business objectives and align its metrics accordingly.
Choosing the right measures is far more important than the quantity of data measured. Measuring the  
right data, and acting on the results of the measurements, is essential for operating marketing as a  
Center of Excellence (CoE). There are almost infinite numbers of measures and metrics marketers  
can use today. It’s critical to select the right ones. Once this first step is complete, marketing can  
form a metrics data chain; the sequence of metrics that forms the links between activity, output,
operational metrics, and outcome metrics.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Improve dashboards by incorporating the metrics that reflect Marketing’s impact on and value to the
business. A good marketing dashboard facilitates decisions. If Marketing’s dashboard doesn’t enable
course adjustments, reveal what is and isn’t working, and communicate the value of marketing in
financial and strategic impact terms then it’s time for a dashboard makeover.
Make Marketing Ops more about doing things right AND doing right things. The Marketing Ops  
function enables Marketing to leverage two key capabilities necessary for a CoE’s success: process  
and technology. At its most fundamental level, a CoE is working to create world-class standards and
models that drive and achieve business results, encourage innovation, and leverage proven techniques
and methodologies. Typically the processes, systems, tools and skills necessary to link marketing to
business outcomes exist within the Marketing Ops function, who is responsible for tracking and  
reporting results in order to improve and prove marketing’s value. In short, Marketing Ops helps run the
Marketing function as a fully accountable business by building the processes and managing the systems.
Revisit the characteristics of a CoE so that marketing can truly begin the transformation into one. Agility
and CoEs go hand-in-hand. Organizations that achieve agility excel at fostering and harnessing best
practices. They achieve performance excellence.
Marketing 
Performance
Study 2016
Those marketers who have not yet embraced MPM may feel intimidated at the prospect of embarking on  
the MPM journey. While all marketing organizations are unique and pursue different goals, the fundamental
principles of MPM remain constant for all Marketing organizations.
The major challenge all three of the personas face is using metrics and analytics to direct and connect
marketing activity to business outcomes. Marketing organizations that have the discipline and are willing to
travel the distance will make measurable gains in MPM, and acquire all the benefits of doing so.
Marketing 
Performance
About VisionEdge Marketing Management
Study 2016
Since our inception in 1999, our passion and purpose at VisionEdge Marketing has
been to bring science to the discipline of marketing and help our customers use data,
analytics, metrics, and processes to prove and improve the value of their marketing.
Our customers use our consulting services in the areas of marketing accountability,
measurement and analytics; outcome-based marketing metrics; actionable
dashboards; and processes, data, and systems to make smarter strategic market,
customer and product decisions.
To learn more about our services, capabilities and customers, please visit
www.visionedgemarketing.com.
TM
Marketing 
Performance
About Demand Metric Management
Study 2016
Demand Metric is a marketing research and advisory firm serving a membership

community of over 80,000 marketing professionals and consultants in 75 countries.
Offering consulting methodologies, advisory services, and 500+ premium marketing

tools and templates, Demand Metric resources and expertise help the marketing
community plan more efficiently and effectively, answer the difficult questions about
their work with authority and conviction and complete marketing projects more
quickly and with greater confidence, boosting the respect of the marketing team
and making it easier to justify resources the team needs to succeed.
To learn more about Demand Metric, please visit: www.demandmetric.com
H i g h P e r f o r m a n c e M a r k e t i n g
DEMAND METRIC
Appendix A:
Survey Methodology
Marketing 
Appendix A:  Performance
Management
Survey Methodology Study 2016
This Marketing Performance Management Benchmarking survey was administered online during the period of
January 27, 201 through February 29, 2016. During this period, 438 responses were collected, 366 of which
were complete enough and qualified for inclusion in the analysis. The data was analyzed to identify insightful
relationships between variables in the study and to ensure the validity of the findings. The representativeness
of these results depends on the similarity of the sample to environments in which this survey data is used for
comparison or guidance.
Summarized below is the basic categorization data collected about respondents to enable filtering and
analysis of the data:
Marketing 
Management
Organization!
Both B-to-B and B-to-

C, 29%! Primarily B-to-B, 50%!
Primarily B-to-C, 21%!
Marketing 
Management
Primary Role of Respondent!
Corporate
executive team,
16%! Business Unit leader/
P&L owner, 5%!
All others, 43%!

CMO/VP of
marketing, 11%!
Marketing
Ops, 11%!
Product
marketing,
Field marketing, 10%!
3%! Inbound marketing/
telemarketing, 1%!
Marketing 
Management
Annual Revenue!
$5 billion to 9.9
$10
billion, 3%!
billion or
$1 billion to $4.9 more,
billion, 5%! 11%!
$500 million to
$999 million, 4%!
$100 million to Less than $50 million,

$499 million, 53%!
14%!
$50 million to $99

million, 10%!
Appendix B:
Survey Data Summary
Marketing 
Appendix B:  Performance
Management
Survey Data Summary Study 2016
Importance that marketing is able to

Campaign
measure its value & contribution to Value Creators Sales Enablers
Total Responses Producers
the business: (1=Not important; (A’s) (B’s)
(C’s and below)
10=Extremely important)
Now 307 8.9 8.0 7.0
2 years from now 307 9.0 8.7 8.4
How do you see the pressure on

Campaign
marketing’s ability to measure value Value Creators Sales Enablers
& contribution (A’s) (B’s)
(C’s and below)
to the business?
Significantly increasing 307 47% 30% 46%
Slightly increasing 307 38% 55% 36%
Staying the same 307 13% 11% 13%
Slightly decreasing 307 1% 3% 2%
Significantly decreasing 307 1% 1% 3%
Marketing 
Management
Compared to 2015, would you say

Campaign
that the marketing organization’s Value Creators Sales Enablers
ability to measure & report its (A’s) (B’s)
(C’s and below)
contribution to the business has:
Improved 307 82% 62% 34%
Stayed the same 307 14% 36% 55%
Gotten worse 307 1% 0% 8%
I don’t know 307 3% 2% 3%
For 2015, using a 100-point scale where 100

is best, please select what grade the CEO/ Campaign
Total Value Creators Sales Enablers
Division GM would give your marketing Producers
Responses (A’s) (B’s)
organization for its ability to demonstrate its (C’s and below)
value and contribution to the business:
90-100 (A) 312 23% - -
80-89 (B) 312 - 41% -
70-79 (C) 312 - - 26%
69 or lower (D or F) 312 - - 10%
Marketing 
Management
Value Creators Sales Enablers Campaign

Consider your organization’s
(A’s) (B’s) Producers
marketing function. How strongly to
Total Responses (C’s and below)
you agree or disagree with the
% Agree or % Agree or % Agree or
following statements?
Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree
It’s clear to the leadership team how

284 87% 79% 50%
marketing is impacting the business:
It is very difficult and perhaps even

impossible to measure marketing’s 283 19% 36% 58%
contribution to business outcomes:
Marketing is good at measuring its

contribution to achieving business 284 92% 70% 45%
goals:
The majority of the marketing staff have

the knowledge and understanding of the
283 68% 60% 43%
financial, accounting and operational
functions of the business:
Marketing 
Management
Value Creators Sales Enablers Campaign

Still considering your organization’s
(A’s) (B’s) Producers
marketing function, how strongly do
Total Responses (C’s and below)
you agree or disagree with the
% Agree or % Agree or % Agree or
following statements?
Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree
Marketing is good at using data to

269 83% 80% 55%
improve its operational efficiency:
Marketing is good at using data to

improve its effectiveness in achieving 269 88% 86% 58%
marketing objectives:
Marketing is good at using data to make

strategic decisions and 269 86% 84% 58%
recommendations:
Marketing is good at using data to make

269 88% 83% 51%
course adjustments:
Marketing has a well-defined and

documented plan for improving its
269 73% 64% 39%
performance management and
business impact:
Marketing 
Management
How satisfied are you with each of Campaign

Value Creators Sales Enablers
the following? 1=Not satisfied at all; Total Responses Producers
(A’s) (B’s)
10=Extremely satisfied (C’s and below)
The marketing organization’s ability to

255 7.3 6.3 4.3
track and measure its performance:

255 7.5 6.4 4.6
justify marketing’s value:

use data to improve business 255 7.7 6.6 4.7
performance:

use data to improve marketing’s 255 7.4 6.5 4.5
performance:
The credibility of marketing within the

255 7.8 6.7 5.2
organization:
examine data to create insights and 255 7.4 6.2 4.5
make predictions:
With the value the marketing team

255 8.1 7.1 5.1
brings to the organization:
Marketing 
Management
How well do your marketing metrics

measure things that link marketing’s
Campaign
results to corporate business Value Creators Sales Enablers
objectives? (A’s) (B’s)
(C’s and below)
1=Very poorly; 10=Extremely well

CEO 249 7.1 6.4 5.1
How confident are you that the

marketing team knows which
metrics/business outcomes the CEO/ Campaign
CFO/BU leaders care about? Total Responses Producers
(A’s) (B’s)
(C’s and below)
1=Not at all confident; 10=Extremely
confident

CEO 249 7.6 6.6 5.4
Marketing 
Management
From the CEO’s perspective, how

has marketing’s use of data, metrics
Campaign
and/or analyses resulted in Value Creators Sales Enablers
marketing: (A’s) (B’s)
(C’s and below)
1=Very poorly;
10=Very well
Having more influence over business

215 8.4 6.6 5.0
decisions
Demonstrating its business acumen 215 8.2 6.5 5.0
Enhancing its credibility 215 8.5 6.8 5.2
Proving its relevancy 215 8.4 7.0 5.1
Facilitating better strategic decision-

215 8.2 6.7 5.2
making
Marketing 
Management
From the CFO/Finance’s perspective,

how has marketing’s use of data,
Campaign
metrics and/or analyses resulted in Value Creators Sales Enablers
marketing: (A’s) (B’s)
(C’s and below)
1=Very poorly;
10=Very well

215 7.6 6.7 4.8
decisions

215 7.7 6.6 4.8
making
Marketing 
Management
From the Business Unit/Division

Leader’s perspective, how has
Campaign
marketing’s use of data, metrics and/ Value Creators Sales Enablers
or analyses resulted in marketing: (A’s) (B’s)
(C’s and below)
1=Very poorly;
10=Very well

215 7.9 6.8 5.2
decisions

215 8.1 6.9 6.7
making
Marketing 
Management
From the Sales perspective, how has

marketing’s use of data, metrics and/ Campaign
or analyses resulted in marketing: Total Responses Producers
(A’s) (B’s)
1=Very poorly; (C’s and below)
10=Very well

215 8.2 6.8 5.3
decisions

215 8.0 7.0 5.1
making
Marketing 
Management
During 2015, please rate your company’s Campaign

(or division’s) abilities to: Producers
(% improvement) (C’s and below)
Increase the inquiry rate 207 59% 48% 20%
Generate net new opportunities 207 78% 64% 38%
Acquire net new customers 207 72% 57% 36%
Grow marketing’s contribution to the pipeline 207 72% 49% 26%
Retain customers 207 50% 33% 27%
Increase business with existing customers 207 48% 48% 35%
Improve customer loyalty 207 57% 41% 30%
Increase our win rate 207 48% 38% 17%
Grow revenue 207 72% 56% 29%
Marketing 
Management
How effective would you say marketing is

Campaign
at using data for the following? Total Value Creators Sales Enablers
Producers
1=Not at all effective; Responses (A’s) (B’s)
(C’s and below)
10=Extremely effective
Understanding the customer buying journey 200 7.8 6.3 5.1

Optimizing content for stages of the buying
200 7.9 6.3 4.9
journey
Orchestrating content delivery by buying
200 7.8 6.1 4.9
journey stage
Understanding & measuring the customer

200 8.0 6.5 5.1
experience
Determining customers at risk of defection 200 6.9 5.8 4.7
Creating buyer personas 200 8.0 6.3 5.1
Gaining customer insights 200 7.9 6.7 5.1
Marketing 
Management
How effective would you say marketing is

Campaign
at using data for the following? Total Value Creators Sales Enablers
Producers
1=Not at all effective; Responses (A’s) (B’s)
(C’s and below)
10=Extremely effective
Understanding the customer buying journey 194 7.9 6.4 5.1

Optimizing content for stages of the buying
194 7.8 6.4 5.0
journey
Orchestrating content delivery by buying
194 7.9 6.7 5.0
journey stage
Understanding & measuring the customer

194 7.5 6.1 4.7
experience
Determining customers at risk of defection 194 8.2 6.6 5.3
Creating buyer personas 194 8.3 6.6 5.3
Gaining customer insights 194 8.3 6.9 5.2
Marketing 
Management
Please rate your mastery of the

following dimensions of data & Campaign
analytics where Total Responses Producers
(A’s) (B’s)
1=No mastery; (C’s and below)
10=Complete mastery
Selecting metrics that measure
182 7.2 6.4 4.6
marketing’s value
Having access to accurate, reliable data 185 6.9 6.3 5.0
Collecting, storing and managing data 179 7.4 6.4 5.0
Analyzing and reporting on data 183 7.5 6.4 5.1
Creating data visualizations 177 7.3 6.1 4.6
Improving marketing effectiveness with

177 7.7 6.2 4.5
analytics insights
Using data to link marketing activity to

176 7.2 6.3 4.5
business outcomes
Creating dashboards that communicate

175 7.0 5.8 4.1
marketing’s value
Creating marketing dashboards that

177 7.1 5.7 4.1
facilitate strategic decisions
Marketing 
Management
Please indicate the status of these

Campaign
categories of performance metric, Total
Value Creators (A’s) Sales Enablers (B’s) Producers
for each category selecting all that Responses
(C’s and below)
apply:
Activity metrics:
Do not track: 9% 22% 23%
We measure this: 54% 42% 44%
We use this data: 182 51% 39% 28%
We report this data: 54% 33% 25%
Reviewed by CEO/CFO: 26% 22% 14%
I don’t know: 7% 1% 5%
Brand metrics:
We use this data: 182 47% 34% 33%
Customer metrics:
We use this data: 182 54% 39% 32%
Marketing 
Management

Campaign
(C’s and below)
apply:
Leading metrics:
We use this data: 182 33% 25% 18%
I don’t know: 12% 13% 5%
Market metrics:
We use this data: 182 51% 35% 21%
Marketing spend & cost-related
metrics metrics:
182
We use this data: 70% 39% 25%
Marketing 
Management

Campaign
(C’s and below)
apply:
Operational metrics:
We use this data: 182 63% 40% 21%
Output metrics:
We use this data: 182 58% 48% 25%
Outcome metrics:
We use this data: 181 54% 43% 23%
Marketing 
Management

Campaign
(C’s and below)
apply:
Pipeline metrics:
We use this data: 181 47% 43% 25%
I don’t know: 5% 10% 5%
Predictive metrics:
We use this data: 181 40% 29% 23%
I don’t know: 9% 14% 2%
Relationship metrics:
We use this data: 181 37% 30% 13%
I don’t know: 7% 16% 5%
Marketing 
Management

Campaign
(C’s and below)
apply:
Revenue metrics:
We use this data: 181 56% 44% 27%
Sales Enablement metrics:
We use this data: 181 58% 42% 30%
Social media metrics:
We use this data: 181 56% 49% 27%
Marketing 
Management

Campaign
(C’s and below)
apply:
Website metrics:
We use this data: 181 56% 55% 38%
Marketing 
Management
Value Sales Campaign

When it comes to marketing data and Total Creators(A’s) Enablers(B’s) Producers
analytics, what are your top challenges? Responses (C’s and below)
Rank Rank Rank
None 39 14% 18% 30%
One generated automatically by CRM/

42 28% 25% 16%
Marketing Automation
One that we have created & customized

71 42% 39% 39%
using data from multiple sources
One generated using a subscription or

18 7% 12% 11%
license to a 3rd party dashboard tool
Other 4 2% 2% 2%
I don’t know 7 7% 4% 2%
Marketing 
Management
How well does your marketing dashboard Campaign

enable you to do the following? Producers
1=Not at all well; 10=Extremely well (C’s and below)
Monitor & measure marketing objectives

113 8.7 6.1 5.0
aligned to business outcomes
Track performance of core marketing

113 8.5 6.8 5.2
strategies & processes
Analyze performance of campaigns or other

113 9.0 6.6 5.2
marketing activities
Track marketing metrics in real time 113 8.4 6.2 4.9
Communicate to the C-suite marketing’s

113 8.4 6.5 5.2
contribution to the business
Enable the C-suite to make business decisions 113 8.3 6.6 5.1
Secure additional resources (people or

113 8.3 6.4 4.8
budget) for marketing
Marketing 
Management
To what extent does your marketing

Campaign
organization set quantifiable Value Creators Sales Enablers
performance targets for marketing (A’s) (B’s)
(C’s and below)
programs & objectives?
Nearly all marketing programs have

well-defined & documented 35 33% 21% 9%
performance targets
Many, but not all marketing programs

have well-defined & documented 76 49% 47% 32%
performance targets
Few programs have well-defined &

38 7% 21% 30%
documented performance targets
We do not usually set quantifiable

performance targets for our marketing 27 9% 10% 27%
programs
I don’t know 5 2% 1% 2%
Marketing 
Management
Campaign
Does your marketing organization Total
have the following? Responses
(C’s and below)
Data inventory:
Yes, fully implemented: 54% 16% 7%
Yes, part implemented: 28% 42% 35%
No; planning in 12 mos: 179 5% 16% 18%
No; planning > 12 mos.: 2% 6% 11%
No plans to implement: 9% 12% 29%
Metrics catalog:
No; planning > 12 mos.: 7% 3% 22%
Data chains:
No; planning > 12 mos.: 2% 5% 16%
I don’t know: 7% 16% 2%
Marketing 
Management
Which statement best reflects how the C- Campaign

suite would characterize your marketing Producers
organization as a Center-of-Excellence? (C’s and below)
So exemplifies a CoE that the marketing

organization serves as the model for other 17 21% 5% 7%
functional organizations
Operates as a CoE 43 39% 24% 11%
Is well on its way to becoming a CoE 45 19% 36% 16%
Is early in its journey to becoming a CoE 47 19% 21% 40%
Has yet to start the journey to becoming a CoE - 2% 14% 26%
Marketing 
Management
Do you currently have a marketing Campaign

operations function within your marketing Producers
organization? (C’s and below)
Yes 100 67% 58% 44%
Not yet, be we are talking

39 14% 22% 29%
about implementing one
No 36 19% 17% 25%
I don’t know 4 0% 3% 2%
Marketing 
Management
Which of the following are current

Campaign
responsibilities of your marketing Total Value Creators Sales Enablers
Producers
operations function? Responses (A’s) (B’s)
(C’s and below)
Select any that apply:
Marketing campaign analysis & recording 73 76% 81% 63%

Marketing data management 67 83% 62% 63%
Marketing technology & automation 62 69% 64% 58%

Marketing performance measurement &
65 72% 71% 54%
reporting
Marketing budgeting & planning 49 52% 48% 50%
Marketing talent & skills development 31 38% 29% 25%

Customer, market competitive intelligence
44 59% 43% 29%
research & insights
Marketing workflow process development &
35 52% 36% 17%
documentation
Marketing organization benchmarking;
36 55% 33% 21%
identifying improvement areas
Marketing project management 43 55% 45% 29%
Marketing strategic planning 48 66% 50% 29%
Marketing analytics & predictive modeling 34 55% 26% 25%
Marketing 
Performance
Have a Question? Management
Study 2016
If you have a specific question about the findings in this report, please do not hesitate to reach out and ask.
Laura Patterson at VisionEdge: 1-512-681-8800 or email: laurap@visionedgemarketing.com

Jerry Rackley at Demand Metric: 1-866-947-7744 or email: jerry@demandmetric.com
Marketing Performance Management Benchmark Study 2016
© 2016 VisionEdge Marketing, Inc. and Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.!
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MARKETING

3 Introduction 88 Moving Forward

11 Planning Your Journey 94 About VisionEdge Marketing

20 Excellence as a Direction 95 About Demand Metric

33 Discovering Insights 96 Appendix A: Methodology

69 Managing Your Journey 101 Appendix B: Data Summary

After eight days of difficult progress, De Long measured their advancement,

Despite a steady march southward, the expedition failed to progress,

In this 15th year of the Marketing Performance Management (MPM)

This joint Marketing Performance Management Benchmark study conducted

Finding Treasure on Your Journey

The purpose of this ongoing benchmarking study is to explore how

This report is filled with keys to finding and unlocking

Key Point: Only a handful of !

Grade: Historical Trend!

% Agreement: Marketing staff has knowledge of the business!

2014! 2015! 2016!

Campaign Producers! Sales Enablers! Value Creator!

Key Point: “A goal !

Importance of Measuring Marketing's Value & Contribution: !

9.2! 9.0! 8.9!

2013! 2014! 2015! 2016!

Figure 4: Lackluster headway despite continued emphasis on MPM by all groups.

% Agreement: Marketing has a well-defined improvement plan.!

74%! 72%! 70%!

2014! 2015! 2016!

Key Point: The Sales Enablers, the !

Marketing organizations serve their organizations best when the scope of

Value Creators! Sales Enablers! Campaign Producers!

2015: Satisfaction with Marketing's Ability to:!

Value Creators! Sales Enablers! Campaign Producers!

Campaign Producers! Sales Enablers! Value Creators!

2016: % Segment Members Showing Improvement !

Value Creators! Sales Enablers! Campaign Producers!

Confidence marketing knows the metrics leaders care about: !

2013! 2014! 2015! 2016!

Key Point: Measuring marketing’s value remains a top !

How Marketing's Use of Data Facilitates Better Decision-Making!

Value Creators! Sales Enablers! Campaign Producers!

% Agreement: Marketing is good at using data to make strategic

2013! 2014! 2015! 2016!

Figure 12: Trend by persona for use of data.

Key Point: Value Creators progress on data usage is !

2016: % Strong Agreement that Marketing is Good at Using Data to:!

Improve effectiveness of achieving 49%!

Value Creators! Sales Enablers! Campaign Producers!

Figure 13: Best-in-class marketers’ prowess in using data is unmatched.

2015: % Strong Agreement that Marketing is Good at Using Data to:!

Improve effectiveness of achieving 58%!

Value Creators! Sales Enablers! Campaign Producers!

Figure 14: Use of data by persona for 2015.

Key Point: Data-to-insights driven organizations expect!

Not at all Extremely

Campaign Sales Value

Not at all Extremely

Campaign Sales Value

Key Point: The best performing marketing teams aren’t !

Instead, they are experts at marketing AND well versed in all

Value Creators continue to be stronger at business acumen than

A central hypothesis for this year’s study played out. Marketing

Relevant to the organization

Demonstrate greater business acumen

Understand the Business

Key Point: The C-suite’s !

How Marketing's Use of Data Demonstrates its Business Acumen!

Value Creators! Sales Enablers! Campaign Producers!

Figure 16: Data use and business acumen, by MPM persona.