KPIs for Marketing

KPIs for Marketing: economic value added

Discover how to measure the true economic value of your marketing efforts with our guide on KPIs for Marketing: economic value added.

Marketing is a crucial aspect of any business, but managing the performance of your marketing campaigns can be challenging. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) come in handy as they help you track how well your marketing efforts are moving the needle. One KPI that marketers have been adopting is Economic Value Added (EVA). In this article, we will delve into how EVA works and its incorporation into KPIs for marketing success.

Understanding Economic Value Added (EVA)

Economic Value Added (EVA) is a financial metric designed to assess the true economic profit generated by a company after accounting for the cost of capital. It is a way to measure the value a company creates for its investors and is an increasingly popular way to evaluate companies' performance, including marketing performance.

Definition of Economic Value Added

Economic Value Added is calculated by subtracting the cost of capital from the net operating profit after taxes. This provides a more accurate measure of a company's profitability than traditional metrics such as gross income or net income. The goal of EVA is to determine the amount of value a company is creating in excess of the cost of capital invested by its shareholders.

For example, if a company generates a net operating profit of $1 million and the cost of capital is $800,000, the EVA would be $200,000. This means the company has generated $200,000 in excess of the cost of capital invested by its shareholders.

Importance of EVA in Marketing

Marketers often struggle to justify the cost of their campaigns and demonstrate their contribution to the company's revenue. EVA can provide insight into how successful a marketing initiative is in creating value for the company. Incorporating EVA into marketing efforts helps managers understand how much value is being created per marketing dollar invested and allows them to assess performance across different campaigns.

For example, if a company invests $100,000 in a marketing campaign and generates a net operating profit of $500,000, the EVA for that campaign would be $400,000. This means the campaign generated $400,000 in excess of the cost of capital invested by shareholders.

Calculating EVA for Your Business

To calculate EVA, you need to account for the cost of the capital invested by shareholders. This includes the cost of debt, equity, and any other financing used to run the business. The net operating profit after taxes is calculated from revenues minus all of the business's expenses. The final EVA value tells you how much value was generated by the business after accounting for all costs of capital.

It's important to note that EVA is not the only metric that should be used to evaluate a company's performance. It should be used in conjunction with other financial metrics to get a complete picture of a company's financial health.

In addition, EVA can vary greatly between industries and companies. For example, a company in a capital-intensive industry may have a higher cost of capital than a company in a less capital-intensive industry, which would impact their EVA calculations. As such, it's important to compare EVA values within the same industry or sector.

Overall, EVA is a useful tool for evaluating a company's performance and creating value for shareholders. By incorporating EVA into marketing efforts, managers can better understand the impact of their campaigns and make more informed decisions about where to invest marketing dollars.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in Marketing

Marketers often use KPIs to measure the success of their campaigns. These are quantifiable measurements that help businesses assess whether they are on track to achieving their marketing goals. KPIs are essential in determining the effectiveness of marketing initiatives and whether they are driving the desired outcome. Here are some common KPIs in marketing:

Role of KPIs in Marketing Strategy

KPIs help organizations stay focused on their business goals and align their marketing strategies accordingly. By tracking the right metrics and KPIs, businesses can identify areas that need improvement and adjust their strategies for better performance. This can be especially important in today's digital age, where marketing campaigns can be highly targeted and personalized, making it even more critical to track the right KPIs.

One way that KPIs can help businesses is by providing insight into which marketing channels are most effective. For example, if a business is running a social media campaign and tracking KPIs such as engagement rates, click-through rates, and conversions, they can analyze the data to see which posts or ads are performing best. This information can help them optimize their social media strategy and allocate resources more effectively.

Common Marketing KPIs

  • Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): This KPI measures the cost of acquiring a new customer. It can help businesses determine the ROI of their marketing campaigns and identify areas where they can reduce costs.
  • Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs): MQLs are potential customers who have shown a specific level of interest in a business's products or services. This KPI measures the effectiveness of a business's lead generation efforts.
  • Conversion Rates: This KPI measures the percentage of visitors to a website or landing page who take a specific action, such as filling out a form or making a purchase. It can help businesses assess the effectiveness of their website design, messaging, and calls to action.
  • Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): CLV is the total amount of money a customer is expected to spend on a business's products or services over their lifetime. This KPI can help businesses determine the long-term value of their customers and identify opportunities to increase revenue.
  • Brand Awareness: This KPI measures how well a business's brand is recognized by its target audience. It can help businesses assess the effectiveness of their branding and advertising efforts.

Aligning KPIs with Business Goals

It's essential to set KPIs that are aligned with the business's goals. KPIs should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Businesses should track these KPIs regularly to monitor their progress towards achieving their goals.

For example, if a business's goal is to increase revenue by 20% over the next year, they might set KPIs such as increasing their conversion rate by 10% and reducing their customer acquisition cost by 5%. By tracking these KPIs regularly, they can adjust their marketing strategies as needed to stay on track towards achieving their goal.

Overall, KPIs are a critical component of any marketing strategy. By tracking the right metrics and aligning them with business goals, businesses can assess the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns and make data-driven decisions to improve their performance.

Integrating EVA into Marketing KPIs

Integrating Economic Value Added (EVA) into your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can help you evaluate the value that your marketing efforts bring to the organization. EVA is a financial metric that measures the true economic profit of a company, taking into account the cost of capital. By assigning marketing initiatives an EVA value, it is possible to identify the most profitable campaigns and focus the marketing team's efforts on these areas.

Marketing is a crucial aspect of any business, and it's important to measure its effectiveness. By integrating EVA into your KPIs, you can get a better understanding of the value your marketing campaigns bring to the company. Here are the steps to integrate EVA into your marketing KPIs:

Identifying EVA-Driven Marketing Metrics

The first step in integrating EVA into your marketing KPIs is to identify the marketing metrics that influence EVA. These can be things like customer acquisition costs, conversion rates, and customer lifetime value. Customer acquisition costs are the expenses incurred by a company to acquire a new customer. Conversion rate is the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase. Customer lifetime value is the total amount of money a customer is expected to spend on a company's products or services over their lifetime.

By tracking these metrics, you can get a better understanding of how your marketing campaigns are impacting the company's profitability. For example, if your customer acquisition costs are high, it may be time to reevaluate your marketing strategy to find more cost-effective ways to acquire new customers.

Setting EVA-Based Marketing Goals

Once you have identified the marketing metrics that influence EVA, the next step is to set EVA-based marketing goals for each metric. For example, you may want to increase the number of customers gained per marketing dollar invested to improve customer acquisition costs. By setting specific goals, you can measure the success of your marketing campaigns and make adjustments as needed.

It's important to note that EVA-based marketing goals should be aligned with the company's overall goals and objectives. For example, if the company's goal is to increase revenue, your marketing goals should be focused on driving sales and increasing customer lifetime value.

Monitoring and Adjusting EVA KPIs

Tracking your EVA KPIs regularly is crucial to ensuring the success of your marketing campaigns. By monitoring your metrics, you can identify areas where your campaigns are falling short and make adjustments as needed. For example, if a marketing campaign is not generating the desired EVA, you may need to switch gears and focus on a different initiative.

It's important to remember that EVA is just one metric, and it should be used in conjunction with other KPIs to get a complete picture of your marketing performance. By integrating EVA into your marketing KPIs, you can get a better understanding of the value your marketing campaigns bring to the company and make data-driven decisions to improve your marketing strategy.

Case Studies: Successful EVA Implementation in Marketing

Company A: Boosting Profitability Through EVA-Driven Marketing

Company A, a retailer, identified that its most profitable customers were those who spent over $100. The marketing team created a campaign targeting this customer group, which included personalized recommendations and discounts for loyalty members. By calculating the EVA metric for this initiative, the team was able to demonstrate a positive impact on profitability, and the campaign was expanded to target other high-value customer segments.

Company B: Enhancing Brand Value with EVA Metrics

Company B, a tech company, struggled to measure the true value of its brand. The marketing team started tracking EVA metrics to help understand their branding efforts' economic impact. Using the EVA metric, they were able to identify the campaigns that had the most significant impact on brand value and reallocate resources accordingly.

Company C: Streamlining Marketing Efforts Using EVA KPIs

Company C, a manufacturing company, had a large and complex marketing system. By adopting EVA-based KPIs, the marketing team was able to streamline and optimize marketing efforts. Using EVA metrics, the team identified the most and least profitable campaigns, allowing them to adjust their strategy to focus on successful initiatives.

Conclusion

EVA is a valuable metric for marketers seeking to track the value their campaigns create for the business. Integrating EVA into marketing KPIs can help businesses set goals and track progress in creating real economic value for their stakeholders. By implementing EVA-based strategies, marketers can make data-driven decisions that optimize marketing campaigns and drive business success.