The need for certainty seems to sum up the marketplace these days. We have experienced such radical change in the past two years. Business leaders everywhere are looking for some signs of certainty - ensuring a Return on Investment (ROI) - before acting. The problem with certainty is that it is a scarce commodity. Nothing is certain now, if it ever was. Waiting for a feeling of certainty is making us hesitate to act. And then we wonder why we’re not making more progress? Marketing, the practice of reaching out to our audience to deliver a message and entice them to act, is never certain. It is always a mix of art and science. Of intuition and of metrics. But there are ways to take some of the gamble out of marketing. Here’s how I work for certainty:

1) Measure Your Goals. Every goal can and should have some way it can be measured.

2) Identify Steps for Evaluation. On the way toward the ultimate goal of a final sale are the action steps that lead to the sale. Identify those steps, such as introduction, seeking more information, trial, etc. Figure out how to measure them and when, and use this information to evaluate your plan. Alter the plan tactics if needed.

3) Have Alignment. Make sure your team is aligned before you begin. Is the marketing plan just your good idea, or is your entire team or organization aligned with you? You’ll have a better chance of success if you are aligned and everyone is working toward a common goal.

4) Know Your Truth. Your brand is your truth, your core essence, your value. If you understand your core essence, your marketing will ultimately be successful. Even if your tactics are off, the message will resonate.

5) Know Your Customer. What are your customers’ concerns? What are their challenges? Why is your product or service valuable to them? How does it help them? What are their trusted sources for information? Knowing the answers to these questions will inform your marketing plan with the right message and the right tactics. All of those add up to ROI in my book. There is a debate in marketing circles right now about intuitive thinking vs. scientific measurement. We need both. The world is changing too fast to simply use a rear view mirror to measure what happened. We need to use data from the past to make some intuitive leaps into the future.