Over the last few years, the marketing profession has been increasingly focused on demonstrating return on investment – and rightly so, as investors/clients have no desire to throw budget into a creative black hole. But measuring the wrong things can be detrimental, as thought-leader, Seth Godin, writes.

My earliest experience of marketing metrics was about ten years ago, in a software business which was shifting from a start-up culture to a more mature, process-driven organisation. I have to admit that our early attempts at marketing metrics were pretty crude – less about examining our true value than sharing the glory with sales.

Now there is whole discipline around marketing metrics but still a lot of resistance in places. After all, we can see how parts of the National Health Service have suffered as people were driven away from their core strengths in preference for chasing the numbers.

The problem – and the basis of its solution – is summed up brilliantly in this short blog post from Seth Godin, “Colors or Numbers?”

I hope you enjoy Seth’s insights as much as I do.