• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, August 11, 2010

According to a recent study by Forbes Insights, in association with MarketShare Partners, on the topic of measurement and accountability, companies are not cutting back on marketing despite the recent economic roller coaster. Three quarters of marketing executives who responded to the survey noted that they expected their marketing budgets to stay the same or increase in their 2010-2011 fiscal year, with fully one-third expecting an increase.

And, measurement is not taking a backseat to the overall campaign development process, says the report. Marketers' focus is split equally between the importance of the "big idea," a core theme guiding all marketing initiatives and programs, and developing accountability metrics.

Interestingly, marketers with budgets of less than $1 million favored metrics (58%), whereas marketers beyond the $1 million threshold felt that having a "big idea" was more important (58%).

The marketing department shares a significant portion of the responsibility for marketing accountability. 55% of total respondents noted that the CMO is ultimately accountable for marketing effectiveness within their organization, a proportion that increases to 71% for those with marketing budgets greater than $1 million.

40% of respondents said one of the biggest drivers for developing marketing measurement and accountability programs was to justify spend to senior executives. 65% wanted to make marketing more strategic within their organization. As the average tenure of the CMO is a scant 28.4 months according to Booz & Co., CMOs want to prove their strategic effectiveness, concludes the report

As organizations continue to feel the effects of an uncertain economy, they are seeking new ways to maintain their edge and remain nimble. Marketers cite the desire to remain competitive, the current economic climate, internal financial pressures, changing customer behavior, and addition of new marketing tactics as the top issues driving changes in their needs for analytics.

In keeping with the internal financial pressures to justify marketing spend and demonstrate ROI marketers report experiencing, measurement's role appears to be proving the impact of marketing on the bottom line. Nearly six in 10 respondents (59%) use "lift" impact on sales volume and revenue to measure the success of their marketing programs; more traditional, customer engagement-oriented metrics such as cost-per-acquisition and brand awareness trailed distantly at 42% and 41%, respectively.

A gap exists between the use of specific measurement resources and respondents' satisfaction with them, concludes the report. Respondents' measurement programs are overwhelmingly managed with internal resources (86%). At the same time, respondents were not as likely to believe that the measurement resources met or exceeded their needs. Three quarters of respondents felt that internal data met or exceeded their needs compared to 92% that currently used it or had done so in the past.

56% of respondents reported having formalized systems in place to measure effectiveness and ensure accountability. This may be changing. One third of respondents said that they planned to have formal measurement systems in place in the future, while one in five respondents with marketing budgets greater than $1 million said the same, suggesting that nine in 10 marketing executives will have some sort of formal measurement system in the foreseeable future.

Please visit Forbes here for more details and access to the complete study.