Marketing Profs

Malone: You see, what I'm saying is, what are you prepared to do?

Ness: Anything and everything in my power.

Malone: And then what are you prepared to do? If you open the can on these worms you must be prepared to go all the way...

—The Untouchables, 1987

Every company determined to pursue ROI marketing should take a cue from this exchange in The Untouchables between Sean Connery's Jim Malone and Kevin Costner's Elliot Ness.

ROI marketing allows companies to build competitive strategies based on powerful, data-driven insights, but this potentially game-changing approach to marketing is not for the faint of heart.

Malone's interrogation of Ness about his commitment to the daunting task of pursuing Al Capone lies at the heart of the drama in the Untouchables. Yet, when it comes to developing an ROI and optimization framework, drama is often just the beginning.

So the question is, "What are you prepared to do? And then what are you prepared to do" to be a true ROI marketer?

This question of commitment is an essential consideration when pursuing the extremely challenging, if ultimately rewarding, goal of ROI marketing. Companies that take on this challenge should be commended, but few are prepared for the significant enterprise-wide transformation that it takes to be successful.

No matter how savvy the marketer, the impact that ROI marketing will have on the corporate culture can be an eye-opening experience. ROI isn't just a nifty tool to keep vendors in line. The infrastructure frameworks that serve the ROI model will lay bare the decisions of everyone who touches the marketing program, and that includes you.

So what must you be prepared to do if and when your company embarks on the lofty quest of ROI marketing?

1. Be prepared to bear the scrutiny that ROI marketing introduces to the organization

Think carefully on this one. There are lots of folks who fear the transparency that ROI marketing demands. You and your colleagues will have to come clean with sales and marketing communications data that are too often kept in dark silos, away from the glare of enterprise-wide analysis.