• Ad Age, Wednesday, February 24, 2010 10:49 AM

Consultants Karl Gustafson and Rich Schreuer write that there should be a corollary to the adage that "You can't manage (or improve) what you can't measure." After interviewing managers at 400 companies, they find that "measurement alone will not lead to results."

There are four ways to construct successful marketing-performance improvement initiatives, they write and elaborate upon: 1. Foster senior-level buy-in; 2. Seek strategic alignment; 3. Make targeted investments in people, technology and data systems; 4. Develop strong processes.

"Marketing performance is not an initiative or a one-time event," Gustafson and Schreuer caution; "rather, it is a new way to manage marketing."

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