For example, how do you measure brand advertising? Or public relations? Or branded special events and buzz marketing? In fact, it is possible to measure the results and performance of all of these types of marketing. And it all starts with a clear definition of -- and agreement to -- your marketing objectives. These marketing objectives must be well defined and, yes, measurable (instead of being squishy and vague). Most importantly, these objectives must be accepted by all key stakeholders. Having clear, measurable objectives at the start of a marketing communications campaign seems so obvious. It's surprising, however, how often this basic step is either barely taken by marketers, or ignored altogether.

Once you've defined what you are shooting for, and what success ultimately looks like, then you can starting thinking about the ways you can measure the campaign. For example, we recently developed a fully integrated marketing program to help a client get the most out of a major trade show. We established clear and measurable objectives for the event, and then built a program designed to meet and exceed them. One of the ways that we measured the impact of our marketing efforts was to survey attendees prior to the start of the trade show. We then surveyed them again, following the show. This not only gave us a read on how well we did in building awareness about our client's messages, but it allowed us to connect with their prospective customers and gather more information that would be helpful in future marketing activities. Based on this research, we realized that a certain message needed to be clarified. We also learned that we should provide more tangible examples of the benefits of our client's products and solutions. Net-net, by spending a little extra time upfront, and making a small investment in research, we were able to help our client better undertand what they were actually getting from their trade show investment. In the process, we laid the groundwork for improving our client's marketing results in the future.