This is the third in our www.www series in which guest contributor Michelle Corsano talks with Brian Kardon, Chief Marketing Officer of Eloqua. The second and first interviews are here.
Brian Kardon
What impact is the recession having on marketing?
It’s all about marketing measurement. Marketers need to measure what is working and what isn’t – double down on the best performing programs and kill the poor performers. Many marketers lack the analytics to prioritize their marketing investments. It’s never been more important.
Which online tools and sources of information do you rely on?
I have a valuable CMO dashboard, as well as our CRM. The dashboard allows me to see all marketing metrics in one place – site traffic, inquiries, open/CTR on campaigns, unsubscribe rates, CPC on search terms, and much more. There are lots of other places to go. Most are distractions. I keep returning to the marketing dashboard throughout the day to help manage the many campaigns, sponsorships and programs we are running around the world. Every marketer needs a reliable dashboard!
Where do you go online when you login in the morning?
After checking in with the CMO dashboard and CRM, I look at Yahoo for news. I try not to spend too much time online. I need to step away from the computer and get on the phone or out of the office. I feel I’m winning when I’m with my team or a customer… and falling behind when I am online.
Who do you follow online?
I follow several marketing blogs like Digital Body Language (http://digitalbodylanguage.blogspot.com) and George Colony’s blog at Forrester (http://blogs.forrester.com/colony). There is also a great blog on deliverability for digital marketers (http://blog.deliverability.com/).
When and how do you measure digital marketing success?
I think many marketers think their job is about leads, reputation, communication and brand building. But at the end of the day, it’s all about building the business. The best way to measure digital marketing success is not by the click or open rate, or cost per lead. It’s about how marketing contributed to growing the business.
Why are companies reluctant to embrace social media?
I don’t think that’s true anymore. Every company I know – from giants like Dell and Wells Fargo to the smallest start up – is out there using social technologies. We’ve turned the corner from “Wow, isn’t that interesting” to “I can actually measure my inquiries coming from Twitter.”
Social media has become mainstream very fast. When Fortune 500 CEOs are tweeting, and grandmothers are blogging, what’s edgy about that? Now, newspaper advertising … well, nobody’s doing that. I would change the question to: “Why are companies reluctant to embrace newspaper advertising … or print magazine ads?” You don’t see many CEOs embracing those things!
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