The idea of a corporate dashboard is not new, but has recently been gaining increasing popularity.  In our fast-paced, lean-to-the-bone corporate governance mode, we have little time or patience to sift through voluminous reports.  Even spreadsheets seem to be too cumbersome these days.  Now that the CEO has the corporate dashboard, it is only natural that the people reporting to the CEO need their own dashboards, to quickly get a view of the important metrics in their areas of responsibilities before they show up on the CEO’s dashboard...
 
Which brings us to the question of what should the dashboard show.  Here are some of the things I would like to see on my dashboard as a marketing executive in an enterprise software company.
 
The Strategic Marketing Dashboard
 
At the highest level of my strategic performance measurement, I would like to see whether my company is heading towards market domination. 
 
The basic premise of the technology adoption model is that buyers tend to converge towards standards, which in turn enable the creation of market Gorillas and Kings.  Microsoft Windows, Office, and Internet Explorer are prime examples for such standards.  SAP is an example more typical to the higher-end of the enterprise software market, where the Kings are dominant, but to a lesser degree.
 
When you reach this dominating position, you get to enjoy all sorts of unfair advantages.  Once your solution is considered a de-facto standard, it becomes easier to sell to the more conservative buyers, which tend to make the majority of all markets.  You enjoy increasing returns on scale across all functions, from marketing and sales to support, and of course on your R&D.  While you may not be a Gorilla or a King yet, you are on your way to becoming a very healthy Chimpanzee.  
 
How do you measure whether you are heading in the right direction towards this promising position? 
 
There are three numbers you need to keep track of:
1.      New customer wins
2.      New customers won by the competition
3.      Number of customers lost (i.e., no longer use your solution)
 
What should you look for?
 
a.      Number of your new customer wins + number of customers won by the competition should grow quarter to quarter.
This measurement gives an indication of changes to the size of the market. Dominating a shrinking market is a sure recipe to oblivion, so the first thing you want to make sure is that you are in a growth market.  A shrinking market could be a sign of economic slowdown, but it could also be a result of failure to correctly define the market and the competition (we all know the story of the railroads).  If neither you nor the competition is winning more deals, this should be a big red flag: you could be losing the market to a new category of solutions that may signal a paradigm shift.  
 
b.      Ratio of new customer wins divided by the number of customers won by the competition should grow quarter to quarter.
This is a measurement that you are gaining market share and that your growing market presence is helping you close more deals faster than the rest of the market.
 
c.       Number of new customer wins should grow quarter to quarter.
If the above two metrics grow quarter to quarter, this one will grow as well (it’s just the math).  I have included this metric since it is easier to measure and can serve as a good reality check to the above two.  
 
d.      Ratio of customer wins/customers lost should grow or stay steady quarter to quarter.  
This is another reality-check metric to ensure that what comes one way does go out the other... Obviously, this number should be (much) greater than one. 
 

The Strategic Dashboard
 
 
The Tactical Marketing Dashboard
 
The tactical dashboard should reflect how well the marketing organization performs on the interim steps required to achieve your strategic goal of market domination. 
 
Going back to the premise that prior relationships, established trust, and ongoing dialogue will increase the likelihood of selling into the account, the following metrics are the ones I want to see on my dashboard:
 
a.      How many companies and contacts within the target market have you been in touch with in the past 3/6/12 months?
 “In touch” means more than just sending them a letter or calling and leaving a voice mail message.   You only know that you really “touched” someone when you get a response – registration to an event, download of a white paper, real phone conversation, anything that acknowledges that the person on the other end is engaged in a dialogue and not just a passive listener.  Any company in your target market you are not engaged in an active dialogue with is an opportunity for your competitor to grab.

 
b.      How many companies and contacts within the target market have you identified by name?
For those that you have not been able to actually touch yet, identifying the companies and contacts by name (and title) is a first step to establishing a dialogue.
 
 
c.       Number of overall touches with target market contacts.
It takes more than one touch to establish a dialogue.  In many cases up to a dozen touches may be required before a sales cycle kicks in.  The number and frequency of responses from target market prospects is an indication of trust and strength of the relationships.
 
Additional tactical measurements should include cost metrics, such as cost per touch, cost per touched company, cost per newly touched company, and several others we can suggest.     
 
Some final notes:

• What do we mean when we say target market?

If the goal is market domination, the target market should be defined as one where it can be accomplished.  It has to be a market where references are applicable, so getting future customers becomes easier over time.  And it has to be of a size where your presence can make an impact so you can become the de-facto standard.  This all points back to the tried but true formula: focus, focus, focus. 
 
As your company grows, you may define multiple target market segments.  To get a real picture of your performance, track each of these segments separately in your dashboard, and take action when any of these segments does not perform as expected.
 

 

• Trends are more important than snapshots

Back in the mid-nineties, Astea was the clear market leader in the enterprise field service software marketplace.  Since then, the company has lost many customers to the competition, had more losses than profits, and shed over 97% of its market value; but it may still have one of the largest installed bases in the market.  
 
The moral of the story is that looking at market share in terms of installed base is a dangerous thing.  The purpose of the dashboard is to help you navigate your company into a better place, which you can only do by tracking the trends.  Had Astea done it in the mid-nineties (and maybe it did), it would have seen Clarify (now Amdocs), Scopus (now Siebel), and Vantive (now PeopleSoft) creeping into its market.  The rest is history.
 
 
Do you have a marketing dashboard?  What does it look like?  Whether you have one or not, I am curious to know what you would like to see on your dashboard.