The recent B2B Marketing Content Benchmark Report in association with Circle Research found that only 2% of respondents measure the ROI of their content every time. In addition to this, the study found that a whopping 69% of marketers measured ROI only sometimes, rarely or never.

What’s going on in the marketing world? 

These numbers are horrifying! How is it possible that so many B2B marketers are producing and distributing content with such a blatant disregard for the ROI of their efforts? Do they know something we don’t? Can they pay their overheads with ‘downloads’ or ‘Facebook Likes’? Probably not. So why then are some marketers so quick to disregard the revenue that the content could be making?

If all these years in the B2B marketing industry has taught us anything, it’s that money talks. If you can’t measure and prove that your activity is generating revenue, then you’re wasting your time, energy, and of course… money. Other metrics such as downloads, shares and Likes are good indicators of engagement, but if none of those prospects or leads go on to convert to a customer, then what’s the point? We are all in the business of guiding prospects through the sales funnel towards conversion to a sale, and if that doesn’t happen, you may be unlikely to get budget to try again next year.

Measuring ROI’s not that difficult 

Given the importance of measuring ROI in the B2B marketing world, having the right tools to do the job is vital. Start by implementing a marketing automation software solution. Not only will this provide you with all the benefits that automation encompasses, it’ll also give you the opportunity to comprehensively measure customers’ lifecycles.  By analysing customers’ paths to sale from the very first touch to their signature on the bottom line, it’s possible to see which channels and which activity helped guide them forward. By reviewing this data in-depth, it’s possible to identify which channels underperformed, and which were successful. The cost of all the successful channels can now be deducted from the revenue generated from the sale in order to calculate the return on investment. By providing equal attribution to each of the channels that positively influenced the customer, it’s possible to find the ROI per channel.

Get the mindset right 

One thing the report has highlighted more than anything else is the mindset of many of today’s B2B marketers. According to the report, the most common metrics used for measuring the effectiveness of B2B content were website statistics, engagement and lead quality. These are undoubtedly important statistics, but they fail to take into account the most important metric of all… ROI. The mindset of all B2B marketers should be that if an activity is not generating return on investment, then don’t bother. Look to channels and techniques that are proven to increase conversions and generate revenue. Not only will this enable business growth, but showing successful ROI numbers to the board is likely to secure future budget allocation.

To find out more about measuring the ROI of your B2B marketing content…