If Clients want Performance, clarify the Metrics. This was my address to the whole Marketing & Communication market, agencies, people.

The e-Business & Social Media world conference 2018 in Athens was all about “Performance”, the key issue in the global Marketing & Communication industry. The conference program was full of case-studies and workshops, all divided into two separate conference rooms, for the social media and the e-commerce ‘clans’ (although those two should be working closely together).

I had an idea to present, and the story is this: all companies are having in front of them a chaotic ‘clutter’ of metrics, while the business and marketing teams aren’t sure which metric is the most relevant, objective and true to its purpose. On the other hand, thousands of agencies, web ‘gurus’, freelancers of any digital area, growth marketers, SEO experts …you name it, propose ‘mumbo-jumbo’ services and metrics to companies and Marketers.

Who is transparent? Clear to understand? Committed to measurement? True to reporting? Which service provider is bridging the current companies’ knowledge gap in digital channels and performance in a truly professional way? I doubt it! As long as the market stakeholders (IAB, Association of Advertisers, Association of Communication agencies, e-Commerce (GRECA), and Media houses’ organization) don’t agree to educate the market, and spread the right metrics per channel, per service, per industry (so every CEO, owner, marketer, executive can benefit and improve) …the phenomenon of “getting fooled by irresponsible freelancers, who nobody knows what they are doing and if this is critical or not” (in the words of a big customer) will continue. Actually, it will intensify. What do all these market stakeholders do? Do they care?

Consumers collectively ask themselves “Why the fuck would I ever use that ad campaign’s hashtag?”
Adweak on twitter

The idea is simple: sit down, all of you around one table, combine your know-how and draft the “Bible of Metrics”. Then spread it to all industries, chambers, associations, owners, and geographies, so you educate the market; you can certify professionals; you help companies protect their interests from this new breed of “digital-we-do-it-all” clan of freelancers and agencies.

Here’s my short presentation (Borrow My Brain on e-BusinessSocialWorld – June 21 2018):

I have a customer who paid three times his e-shop and it’s not on-air! I have a friend who was paying an SEO service, without getting any report or suggestion. A CEO with a crisis at hand wasn’t getting any metric relevant to monitor and react to the case, and their 3 agencies were fighting over tools and report templates. The examples are too many to stay indifferent.

The market and knowledge gap is there. Who is responsible to fix it?