Importance of Metrics in Marketing Strategies Case Study

Importance of Metrics in Marketing Strategies Case Study Teresa A. Cochran Marketing is a fundamental responsibility for all activities related to advertising and sales strategies that are vital to the success of any organization. The ability of an organization to efficiently market its products and services is directly related to the success or failure of the company. As noted by Arikan (2011), metrics form the base of any effective marketing strategy. However, many firms fail to utilize metrics to calculate success or failure of their strategies. Most companies focus on the new leads generated overlooking other important formulas that analyze the actual success of any type of marketing strategy. As the business environment evolves, new marketing strategies and options are invented which requires marketers to stay a step ahead by understanding key metrics and what they mean for a companys marketing strategies. Ideally, these metrics are measurable values used to demonstrate the level of effectiveness of marketing campaigns on all marketing channels. Since marketers operate across many channels, their marketing strategy will involve a variety of activities, which makes it important to track progress and performance of their actions with the right performance indicators. This can help a business to reach its marketing targets and make improvements when facing challenges. Before choosing the right metrics, it is important to consider channels being used and who in the business will use the resultant information to make decisions (Arikan, 2011). For Athletics Supreme, following are five important metrics that the company should use to evaluate performance of their marketing strategies. For this assignment, 5 marketing metrics will be reviewed to display the anticipated success of the Pleasantly Plus, plus size retail boutique and consignment shop. Each factor is a subcategory of the marketing metrics main categories; sales metrics, customer readiness to buy metrics, customer metrics, distribution metrics and communication metrics. The assignment will review in detail equations used to forecast the following: sales growth, awareness, retention rate, number of outlets and response rate. Sales Metrics Strategic marketing plans are created to facilitate an elevated consumer awareness to promote and attract customers to purchase your product. Data related to sales volumes measure the rate at which sales of your product and is imperative for decision making for the overall fiscal sustainability and financial success This metric is also valuable for strategic planning and will determine future growth projects for the company. Athletics Supreme must also monitor sales data including total sales and types of products sold. Sales data must then be evaluated by the company to determine the effectiveness of the marketing strategy or to determine barriers to sales. The sales metric being utilized to determine the efficacy of the advertising methods used must be monitored with respect to creating sales through increased product awareness. In addition, this evaluation would also determine the tactics that have a negative impact on sales goals (Farris, 2010). These key indicators will be monit ored by the marketing department over multiple sales periods. Athletics Supreme can utilize sales data to monitor growth and of the new product line Sales figures for the sports apparel product line will be monitored quarterly beginning with the date of the initial release of the products. This metric will be monitored for one year with the goal of establishing sales trend lines relative to seasonal sales. Sales growth represents the variance in comparing sales from differing time periods. This data can be reflected mathematically as: (Current time period net sales- Previous time period net sales) _________________________________________ x100 (Previous period net sales) Or As applied to Athletic Supreme ($50,000 net sales qtr 2- $35,000 net sales qtr 1 _________________________________________________________________ x100 $50,000 Athletics Supreme shows a growth rate from Qtr 1 to Qtr 2 of 30% Customer readiness to buy metrics Customer awareness is a method utilized to determine the number of consumers who have been made aware of the products offered, in this case by Athletics Supreme. From a marketing viewpoint, a strong awareness of your product increases potential consumer purchase. Marketers use customer readiness such as awareness, preference, purchase intention, trial rate, and repurchase rate as performance indicators of product branding therefore these indicators have a great deal of influence over strategic planning of a company (Hanssens, Pauwels, Srinivasan, Vanhuele, Yildirim, 2014). Consumer purchases are influenced by multiple stages of product awareness before purchasing. Consideration to the consumers thought process related to decision to purchase before determining an appropriate marketing plan. Athletics Supreme enters the sports apparel market with an edge over the competition due to having a presence in the industry. The company has a reputation for quality therefore, consumers have an established recognition of the name brand. Athletic Supreme should collect behavioral purchasing data based on preferences gathered from sales databases. By evaluating consumer purchases, Athletics Supreme can gain valuable data on consumers product preferences (Kotler Keller, 2012). Periodic surveys of customers that purchase the apparel would further assist in evaluation the most effective marketing tactics. Akrin (2011), notes that the quality advertising message will make customers more inclined to purchase sportswear. Athletics Supreme objective would be to obtain favorable response rates beyond 90 percent, and adjust marketing strategies accordingly. Videos are another medium that would be used in the raising of awareness regarding the new line of sportswear products. The number of viewers of a video is an effective way of determining whether the products receive the attention of the target customers. The target customers are expected to be impacted by the viewership of the videos to engage in the purchase of the products being marketed (Arikan, 2008). Based on the viewership metrics, Athletics Supreme should determine the most efficient marketing channel that facilitates the creation of awareness regarding the product to consumers. The Greater attention of the marketing medium that is most effective should be done to ensure that there is maximum exploitation of the medium to create awareness and influence consumers to make purchase decisions in favor of the sportswear products (Farris, 2010). As applied to Athletics Supreme, an approach to quantifying product awareness is based on cost per 1,000 contacts and then calculate the spend per contact for each advertisement. Marketing Originated Customer % is a ratio that reveals the percentage of the new business that is a result of Marketing efforts. It is computed by getting the number of customers that started with a lead generated by Marketing and then dividing it with the total number of new customers that signed up in a period; the value is then multiplied by 100 (Zikmund Babin, 2013). This metric will show the portion of customers acquisition that originated from Athletics Supreme Marketing efforts in a certain period. This metric is best analyzed using a closed-loop marketing analytics system as manual computation is tiring and takes time (Kotler Keller, 2012). Customer metrics Customer metrics is collection of data that can be used to determine what matters most to the customers: past, present and future. For Athletics Supreme a key subcategory in customer metrics to analyze would be the cost of customer acquisition. Per Arikan (2011), customer acquisition cost, is the cost incurred convincing a potential customer to buy a product or service. This metric is important to a company as well as its investors. Investors use it to determine a companys profitability by analyzing the amount of money that can be extracted from potential customers and cost incurred extracting it. Marketing specialists on the other hand use the metric to optimize returns on their advertising investment. It highlights whether costs of extracting money from customers can be reduced which would help improve the companys profit margin. Mathematically, it includes all cost incurred in acquiring customers over a given period divided by the total number of customers acquired in that period. Ideally, this includes all sales and marketing costs including advertising cost, salaries, commissions, bonuses and relevant overheads in each period (month, quarter or a year) (Zikmund Babin, 2013). For example, for Athletics Supreme, the Customer Acquisition cost in the first year will be: Total Marketing costs for the whole year/number of customers acquired within the year Therefore, if the company spent $50,000 on sales and marketing in a certain month and added 50 customers CAC = $50,000/50 =$1,000 CAC will be important to Athletics Supreme, as it will indicate the effectiveness of the money invested in acquisition of new customers. A high metric will indicate the company is spending too much on sales and marketing while a low metric would indicate that the company is using low costs to gain customers (Arikan, 2011). Customer Retention Rate Customer Retention Rate is used to calculate the loyalty of customers. Acquisition of new customers usually costs more than it costs retaining current ones (Shank Lyberger, 2014). Arikan (2011) argues that evaluating the dedication of a customer towards a company enables marketers to improve their strategies. Encouraging customers to stick with ones business for long helps maximize revenues. It is calculated by subtracting the number of new customers from the total number of customers in a certain period divided by the number of customers at the start of the period and then multiplied by 100 to make it a percentage, i.e. CRR= Customers End Period (CE)-New Customers for the Period (CN)/Customers at Start of the Period (CS) x 100. For example, if Athletics Supreme starts a month with 50 customers and gains 20 new ones but lose 15 customers in that month, the CRR would be; (55-20)/50*100 = 70% This metric will help Athletics Supreme to assess the loyalty of customers for each of its brands. It will also reveal the companys ability to nurture existing customers. Customer lifetime value (CLV) This metric is used to assess the economic value brought by a customer to a business for the entire duration the person remains a customer. It evaluates everything starting with the customers first interaction with the company to the final purchase. It is a comparison of revenues generated by a customer and the costs of acquiring and maintaining the customer. Calculating this metric helps to reveal whether there is value in maintaining long-term marketing channels. If the CLV value is high, a company needs to invest more in retaining customers for the long-term (Arikan, 2011). For example, if Athletics Supreme fills 300 orders with revenue of $20,000, the companys Average Order Value (AOV) would be $66.67. To determine Purchase Frequency (PF), the number of orders is divided by the number of unique customers. Assuming Athletics Supreme had 200 unique customers, PF would then be 1.5. Customer Value (CV) would then be AOVxPF, which is 66.671.5 =$100 Once CV is determined, Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is determined by multiplying the CV by the duration the customers have been in the company. Assuming the orders have a 4-year contract, CVL would be: CVL = Customer Value (CV) x Customer Duration with the Business =1004 =$400 This means, Athletics Supreme Customer Lifetime Value over 4-year duration is $400. Athletics Supreme will use this metric to analyze the potential value customers will bring into the company. According to Shank Lyberger (2014), a high value of the metric means customers are bringing high value which the company should aim at. A very high value would however mean the company is under spending and thus restraining growth. Distribution metrics Simon (2012) considers percentage of shelf space, or the space necessary to sell an item as an essential marketing data point. Athletics Supreme would ideally like to occupy as much of the display space as possible. By occupying a large amount of shelf space, Athletics Supreme has effectively monopolized the stores All Commodity Volume (ACV), or the rate of everything sold in the store. Despite its retail prominence, Athletics Supreme must remain effective by maintaining a successful supply chain logistics. As Simon, (2012) argues that even if Athletics Supreme obtains maximum display areas for the new product line, including overstock for internet sales, it will lose customers if the supply is not adequate. Overall, most retailers with make decisions on inventory based on the potential of selling the item quickly. Communication metrics is the gathering of data that can be utilized to determine the effectiveness of the varying forms of communication channels used. In this case, Athletics Supremes a key subcategory is effective reach. Effective reach is the subset of the target segment of the population that can be effected by an advertisement during a specified time frame. Additionally, the response rate data measures the rate of response that customers respond to information sent to the target market. Communication Metric) Per Arikan (2011), marketing influenced customer percentage is similar to Market Originated Customer %. However, it factors in all new customers where marketing efforts touched and/or nurtured the lead at any point in the sales process as opposed to only originating the lead. For example, if the sales person of Athletics Supreme found a lead who later attended a marketing event and closed, the new customer is assumed to having been influenced by Marketing. This percentage is usually higher than that of the Marketing Originated Customer % as it is more inclusive. It usually ranges from 50-99%. The retail industry is very competitive, therefore, Athletics Supreme must monitor the effectiveness of all forms of customer communication. For example, emails, coupons, and discounts offered on the next customer purchase. Increased sales figures after an email campaign would be a key indicator of the effectiveness of communication. The company can also measure its response rate via satisfaction surveys, Facebook and Twitter followers, and click through rates online. Per Kotler and Keller (2012), Athletics Supreme should focus communications based on frequency of purchase, which can manipulate response rates to double-digits. Conclusion Using metrics effectively will help Athletics Supreme understand the success of its marketing strategies. It will reveal areas where the companys marketing team excels at and where the team needs to improve. Therefore, metrics play an important role in marketing efforts and the company should use the above metrics as well as add others that are relevant to its business. References Arikan, A. (2011). Multichannel marketing: metrics and methods for on and offline success. John Wiley Sons. Farris, P. W. (2010). Marketing Metrics: The Definitive Guide to Measuring Marketing Performance. Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press. Hanssens, D. M., Pauwels, K. H., Srinivasan, S., Vanhuele, M., Yildirim, G. (2014). Consumer Attitude Metrics for Guiding Marketing Mix Decisions. Marketing Science, 33(4), 534-550. doi:10.1287/mksc.2013.0841 Jeffery, M. (2010). Data-Driven Marketing: The 15 Metrics Everyone in Marketing Should Know (1). Hoboken, US: John Wiley Sons, Incorporated. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com Kotler, P., Keller, K. L. (2012). Marketing management Shank, M. D., Lyberger, M. R. (2014). Sports marketing: A strategic perspective. Routledge. Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J. (2013). Essentials of marketing research. Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Tacitus Germania and Women

Germania, written by the Roman Cornelius Tacitus in 98 A. D, is a historical work on the warlike Germanic tribes located north of the Danube and the Rhine rivers. Anthropology is the study of societies, cultures, and origins of human races. In Germania, Tacitus describes the inhabitants, customs, and society of these Germanic tribes giving valuable anthropological insight. Tacitus specifically describes the role women held in these early Germanic societies.Germania is anthropologically insightful of Germanic women by showing the high regard the Germanic tribes held toward women; evidenced through the women's influence on wars, their role in society, and the Germanic marriage customs. Cornelius Tacitus was born in 56 A. D in the area of southern Gaul. By the year 75 he lived in Rome training as an orator. A year later he married the daughter of the consul Julius Agricola. In later years he wrote a biography of Julius Agricola. He eventually took up a career in politics rising from sen ator all the way up to the consulship in 97.After the consulship he continued with his political career as proconsul of Asia but began to write historical works as well. Some of Tacitus' major works include Agricola written in 97-8, Germania written in 98, The Histories, recording Roman history from 69 to 96, and The Annals, recording the history from 14 to 68. Tacitus is known as one of the greatest historians and prose stylists who wrote in Latin. His works The Histories and The Annals are among the masterpieces of Latin literature. Little evidence exists of Tacitus later life or the date of his death. 1Germania is split into 46 chapters or sections. Each one focuses on a different aspect of Germanic life and society. The book begins with a description of the geography of Germania with its boundaries of rivers, mountains, and the ocean. Tacitus then continues to describe the people themselves as a race â€Å"little affected by immigration† (37) because of their geography. T he name ‘Germania' came from the first people to cross the Rhine and defeat the Gauls. The inhabitants took the name Germani in honor of the conquerors and the terror they brought with them.Tacitus gives  descriptions of the Germani's religion, warlike society, home life, government, and the specific Germanic tribes or groups. With regards to religion, the Germani have many gods. Their most important god is Mercury. The Germani were known to give human sacrifices to appease Mercury at times. Other gods such as Hercules and Mars merely required animal sacrifices. The Germani are a very warlike society. Tacitus describes in detail their national war song to the gods sung before and during battle with a deep throaty roar. In the words of Tacitus, â€Å"The Germani have no taste for peace† (41). They are a culture of war.This warlike culture effects the home life and government of the Germani. Marriage is an important institution for the Germani and is highly revered. Tac itus cites that the women are in fact one of the men's greatest motivations for success in war. Though their kings are chosen by noble birth, they choose leaders for their valor. Neither the leaders nor the kings, however, have absolute power. Tacitus expounds upon all these aspects of Germani society in great detail. To conclude Germania Tacitus describes the specific practices of more than 20 individual nations and tribes within the area of Germania.The first evidence Germania gives of the Germani's high regard for women is apparent through the women's influence on the men during war. The women encouraged the men during war and had a great power to motivate the men. Tacitus explains how the women and children were the dearest possessions of the men and continues to say, â€Å"†¦ to them he looks for his highest praise. The men take their wounds to their mothers and wives, who are not afraid of counting and examining the blows, and bring food and encouragement to those fighti ng† (38).The women are taking a very active role in war through caring for the men. The men do not take this for granted, this is their greatest motivation. Tacitus explains more fully the women's ability to motivate the men, â€Å"Tradition has it that armies wavering and even on the point of collapse have been restored by the steadfast pleas of the women, who bared their breasts and described how close they were to enslavement – a fate that the men fear more keenly for their women than for themselves† (38).The women had such a strong power to motivate the men that they could restore the strength of a failing army. The Germani's high regard of women is evident by the women's ability to motivate and encourage the men during war. The thoughts and opinions of Germani women were regarded highly giving them a valuable role in society. Tacitus explains, â€Å"†¦ they believe that there resides in women something holy and prophetic, and so do not scorn their advi ce or disregard their replies† (39).Many societies, especially during this time, believed women to be incapable of intelligent reasoning. The Germani, however, believe women have something holy or prophetic within them. This caused the men to listen to the advice and opinions of the women rather than toss them aside as ignorant. This role of women, possessing something holy and sharing advice, shows a high regard for women in Germanic society. Lastly, the respect and honor shown to women through the Germanic marriage customs show a high regard for women.Tacitus praises the Germani's strict view of marriage. Tacitus describes their marriage customs, â€Å"They are almost unique among barbarians in being satisfied with one wife each†¦ The dowry is brought not by wife to husband, but by husband to wife. Parents and kinsmen attend and approve the gifts, gifts not chosen to please a woman's whim or gaily deck a young bride, but oxen, a horse with reins, a shield with spear an d sword† (43). By each man taking one woman for life the Germani demonstrate a value of women as more than property.The most unique and remarkable custom though regards the dowry. In most cultures the dowry is the gifts and inheritance the bride has to offer the groom. With the Germani, however, this is reversed. Instead the man must bring a dowry to offer the bride. The dowry is not made up of frivolous items for the bride to enjoy but practical items for living. This custom shows the brides worth and honor and demonstrates the Germani's view of women as being valuable and intelligent. The women of Germania are not pushed aside or placed at the bottom of Germanic society.Instead, they motivate the men in war renewing their strength when they are weary. The men value the women enough to place their safety above their lives in battle. The Germani believe the women to have something holy within them, so the men listen to them and do not disregard there advice. Finally, the men d o not trade women as possessions but honor them with a dowry and stay true to one woman in marriage. These anthropological insights of Germanic women described in Germania show the Germanic people held women in high regard in their culture and society.

Unusual Article Uncovers the Deceptive Practices of Easy Comparison Essay Topics

Unusual Article Uncovers the Deceptive Practices of Easy Comparison Essay Topics The Honest to Goodness Truth on Easy Comparison Essay Topics Evaluation The next step is an easy analysis of everything that you've written down. The multiple topics could possibly be found, for instance, in the dissertation abstracts international database. In this piece, you will learn the easiest compare and contrast essay help. Appropriate paper writing includes a whole lot of research and an effortless comparison and contrast essay topics capacity to form strong arguments to defend your standpoint. When prior brainstorming is finished, you can begin drafting your essay. The usage of good informational essay topics can have an impact on how good a grade you get. To compose a high-quality paper, you've got to understand how to pick your topic properly and utilize it to create a practical outline. What You Can Do About Easy Comparison Essay Topics Starting in the Next 3 Minutes This moment, you must find out more about the topic to see the facts that contradict your thesis. Before you begin, it's essential to choose topics that you truly know well. Following that, you can't locate a best topic. Your topic has to be clear and understandable. Choosing the appropriate topics might take a while in case you don't have a list of sample topics facing you. The more prior knowledge or passion for a topic that you have, the simpler it is going to be to write. There are many techniques that may help you to pick a topic. You may also choose a single topic at the moment and get started practicing. The most recent video games are continuously stuffed via the arcade in the front part of the restaurant. Before you commence writing this form of essay, you must collect as much details about each item in comparison as possible. After you have read our helpful on-line article, we'd like to provide something you couldn't even imagine. You simply have to order an excellent essay from experts with the greatest academic degrees in a number of fields. Based on the kind of work you're citing, you might have to include extra details. To collect such info, a detailed principal research is demanded. Post-concussion syndrome info. China has many various pure resources probably due to its vastness. Before you begin any paper, you want to get an understanding of the way to write it. Take notes while reading the materials it's a good head-start! Together with a complete expert attitude our experts also place particular emphasis on the customer's expectations also. Both tablets and textbooks have numerous benefits and a few disadvantages at the exact time. Enough practice in reading and writing will supply you with an extra advantage. If you're into technology, then you may write a paper at which you'll compare similarities or name differences between the two kinds of smartphones. Whatever They Told You About Easy Comparison Essay Topics Is Dead Wrong...And Here's Why You are able to even go on and mention some future developments. For instance, you might think of similarities or differences if we are purchasing a new MP3 player or picking a place to study English. If you are going to write a comparative essay, you want to get a notion of the impacts of unique aspects to the result which you may get at the conclusion of the writing activity. You don't necessarily have to analyze the life span of people from precisely the same region or field of activity. New Questions About Easy Comparison Essay Topics Think about chunking longer writing assignments so students don't need to finish a very long essay all at one time. They write better papers when they have some good examples in front of them. They can typically understand the structure with just a short amount of instruction. They need to successfully complete the curriculum of both educational institutions in order to advance in many careers. By observing the differences between the two sorts of bags, you will have the ability to observe that using paper is better than using plastic. So over time, the counter was worn smooth by countless elbows. The foundation for comparison is going to be the figure of the gentleman. A good example will give a general idea.

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