Building Business Impact – The only KPI Insights really needs

We are calling Insights leaders to make business impact their key KPI for 2020. The ROI of Insights can and should be measured in terms of value to the business and not just budget efficiency. This was the topic of my recent keynote address at the RANZ New Horizons Conference in Auckland. Metrics was also a topic in a recent article in Quirks. As part of their recent survey, they had asked Insights leaders about ‘the key metrics against which their marketing research and insight function is judged?’ The conclusion Quirks came to was that it is currently ‘unclear’. Whilst alarming, this is in line with the findings from our own research from over the last 2 years, so I was not surprised by this. It is still frustrating to be be reminded of this, howevr, and  as one Insights leader put it upon reading the same article: ‘No wonder Insights departments are being eliminated’.

It does not have to be this way, nor should it!

I want to take this opportunity to remind client-side Insights leaders that elimination, or even shrinkage, does not have to be your destiny. Your future can and should be about success and growth. Fortunately, there are corporate Insights function leaders, who are already doing something about this, who making progress in changing the way they measure and demonstrate the value they add to the business. Some have been inspired to start their journey by attending the numerous conference presentations, webinars and workshops we have run over the last two years on the topic of business impact and ROI. Others have made use of the resources available on roiofinsights.com to help them get going.

Progress is being made – Help is available

Some have decided that they want GRBN to help them build a systematic approach to measuring and reporting on the business impact of Insights, and are using the processes and tools we has created. Others are making use of Cambiar’s training modules to embed change within their teams, and it is great to see Insights leaders making progress.

3 action points

Whether Insights leaders decide to go it alone or work with us there are three steps which they can take over the coming more months to ensure a strong start to the new decade:

1. Go into the budget process for 2020 with a compelling ROI of Insights argument
2. Set business impact as their key KPI for 2020
3. Systematically gather data on the impact their work is having on the business in terms of:
   1. Financial ROI metrics
   2. Softer surrogate business impact metrics
   3. Stakeholder feedback

Our experience tells us this is not difficult to do, but it does require a strong business mindset and a willingness to stand up for what I think we all fundamentally believe in: the great value Insights can deliver to a business. Andrew Cannon Executive Director, GRBN