Keeping up with key performance indicators (KPIs)

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are specific financial and non-financial measures that a company, governmental agency or NGO uses to determine whether its marketing strategy is moving the organisation in the direction of its short- and long-term goals.

Different industries rely on different KPIs to assess marketing performance. Banks--including Metro Bank, based in London--want to increase the number of account-holders, increase the number of services utilised by each customer, increase deposits and retain customers for years. Performance is measured by KPIs that indicate progress towards those goals.

Metro Bank, a 'challenger bank' competing with long-established banks on the high street, differentiates its neighborhood 'stores' on the basis of responsive, in-person service while offering online and mobile banking for customers who want tech options. Measuring the results of Metro's marketing strategy requires KPIs that link back to the goals, such as growth in customer deposits. Another KPI is profitability--so far, a goal that Metro Bank is moving towards but has yet to achieve.

What about KPIs for retailers? Online grocery retailer Ocado seeks to increase customer spend, among other goals, which translate into KPIs such as growth in average order size. As the above table from Ocado's recent results indicates, other KPIs include average number of orders per week, average deliveries per van per week and on-time delivery performance. Product wastage is not just a financial measure--it affects Ocado's sustainability performance, as well.

Marketing Metro Bank in year four

'We believe customers simply want a better experience from their bank, the kind they typically get from a great retailer and that's what we intend to give them'.

The chairman of Metro Bank said this in 2010 when opening the firm's first London 'store' (what other banks call a 'branch'). The marketing plan called for opening customer-friendly stores with convenient hours and amenities--at a time when traditional banks are closing branches to cut costs and encourage online banking. Metro Bank's long-term goal is to have more than 200 stores open by 2020--an expensive and aggressive target, but important for reaching a larger customer base and achieving economies of scale. Location, location, location is key.

By now, Metro Bank has attracted 400,000 customer accounts. It still keeps its stores open Monday through Sunday, even on bank holidays. One of its fun features is the open invitation to bring dogs into the store for fresh water and treats.

Although online banking costs less to operate, Metro Bank believes in face-to-face service and wants customers to walk into a nearby branch. Yet because so many customers like the convenience of electronic banking, Metro Bank has its own app and online banking site. Profitability remains on the horizon, perhaps by next year.

To reinforce its connection with the metro London area, the bank has reserved one of the scarce .London dot-com addresses. It has nearly 6,000 Twitter followers and its website actively invites comments and complaints from the public.

This post updates the Metro Bank example of customer service as a point of differentiation in Chapter 10 of Essential Guide to Marketing Planning.

The Most Social Byte Night Ever

It's back! Byte Night takes place on Friday, 3 October this year. IT professionals around the UK will be sleeping rough to raise money for the charity Action for Children.

This year, Byte Night is taking social media marketing to new levels. Understanding how important it is to engage participants and donors, Byte Night's marketers are offering 5 different Facebook banners (one shown above), 5 graphics for Twitter profiles/pages, 2 Twibbons and a banner each for LinkedIn, Google+ and Tumblr.

For other media, Byte Night provides adverts, business card templates and more. Of course Byte Night has an app and its own hashtag #bytenight.

Byte Night has a page devoted to explaining how to write your marketing plan for fundraising during the weeks leading up to Byte Night. The organisation itself has a detailed plan and specific metrics for its fundraising activities.

Last year, Byte Night exceeded its fundraising goal. What about in 2014?

This post updates the Marketing Byte Night opening example in Chapter 11 of The Essential Guide to Marketing Planning.

VW gears up for the future

Volkswagen's iconic camper-van, above, is not going to be part of the German company's product line for much longer. Because of the difficulty of adding airbags to protect all passengers, the van is being dropped in favor of newer models and technologies that will help in the drive for future growth. This is part of VW's long-term goal of becoming the world's number one automaker by 2018.

China is VW's most important market these days, so the company is boosting production of the Golf and other models to meet projected demand. It's also investing more heavily in its existing joint ventures inside China, where the ever-expanding middle class segment has the income to buy new vehicles.

Meanwhile, European car sales have been slow but as the economic recovery continues, volume is likely to rise. Thanks to VW's large portfolio of brands, it remains Europe's top-selling car company. Its truck brand, Scania, reports healthy sales as fleet operators get ready for stricter emissions rules.

Like other automakers, VW is increasingly active in engaging car buyers through social media. Its UK website has links to Facebook (404,000 likes), Twitter (63,000 followers), YouTube, and Flickr. VW US has a popular Pinterest board, as well.

Goals and metrics for Byte Night 2013

On the night of 4 October, more than 1,000 people from the info-tech industry will sleep rough to raise money during Byte Night. The money goes to help homeless children through the registered charity Action for Children.

In 2012, Byte Night set a marketing goal of recruiting 1,000 sleepers and raising £900,000. It achieved these goals, raising a record-breaking £950,000. In all, Byte Night has been responsible for donating more than £5 million to Action for Children during its first 15 years.

Now, in its 16th year, Byte Night has ambitious new goals: It aims to recruit 1,500 sleepers and collect £1 million in donations. To do this, it is reaching out to info-tech businesses and professionals, asking them to organise teams for 4 October and hold other fundraising events. Companies like Workbooks and schools like the University of St. Andrews have already announced their support and started planning their participation.

How will Byte Night measure success? Of course, the top two metrics are (1) the amount of money raised and (2) the number of participating sleepers. Interim measures of the number of sleepers who have committed to the project helps Byte Night gauge the effectiveness of its marketing efforts and make changes as needed to improve awareness and involvement before the event takes place.

In addition, Byte Night can count the number of Facebook likes for its page and the number of Twitter followers, then track comments and posts throughout social media to see how quickly the message is spreading. Byte Night's LinkedIn presence is another platform for engaging sleepers. The higher the number of comments and participants, the higher the awareness of Byte Night.

This updates the opening example in Chapter 11 of the new edition of Essential Guide to Marketing Planning.