Performance marketing for CMOs

What are the essential things CMOs should know about performance marketing? mThink recently asked MediaWhiz’s general manager, Peter Klein, what chief marketing officers should be thinking about when considering performance marketing initiatives.

Klein said that performance marketing is the definition of getting measurable return on investment for marketing dollars. “Whichever performance marketing method one chooses to use, whether affiliate marketing, e-mail, search engine marketing, social media, banner advertising, or co-registration, all can be tested with controlled spends in approved environments. That allows campaigns to be optimized in real-time and, as a result, to be scaled profitably with the assurance of ROI,” he said.

Klein also made the following points:

• Getting the campaign started is easy. Typically, the network will provide detailed instructions as to what is needed.
• Good performance networks should also provide the consultative services of an agency whereby they educate advertisers on every facet of online marketing.
• Campaigns should be monitored daily at the beginning. But while a campaign should never be regarded as set-it-and-forget-it, it also shouldn’t need to consume the time of a CMO.

Klein said the demonstrable ROI of performance marketing can be a “scary new world” for marketing executives accustomed to traditional budget planning and justification processes. “Basically, a CMO can buy $10 bills for $5 by getting a guaranteed return that can then be used to scale a campaign even further. If it’s done right, there is a huge payoff – an immediate and easily measurable return on investment for the marketing spend.”

For CMOs considering performance-based campaigns, TW Networks, a division of Tiziani Whitmyre, Inc., is the first full-service performance network focused solely on the needs of B2B marketers. Its affiliates represent leading online publishers across a broad range of B2B, technology, and life science markets.