Decoding the evolving landscape of marketing measurement in a digital-first world

The third edition of DATAMATIXX ASIA 2024 Summit and Awards, held on August 6, 2024, brought together industry leaders to explore the frontiers of data, AI, and marketing evolution. A key highlight of the summit was a panel discussion, titled ‘Redefining Marketing Metrics for a Digital-First World’, which was chaired by Chirag Bhatia, Managing Director - India, ChannelFactory. The esteemed panelists included:

Mihir Wakharkar, Business Head - Online D2C, Rebel Foods

Nishant Nayyar, VP and Head of Marketing, Kaya Limited

Sanket Narkar, Chief Marketing Officer, Physics Wallah (PW)

In today’s rapidly digitizing landscape, marketing strategies must evolve to keep pace with changing consumer behaviors and technological advancements. The panel discussion on redefining marketing metrics brought together industry leaders to explore how marketing measurement has adapted to these changes. With a focus on the complexities of digital marketing and the importance of accurate measurement, the discussion shed light on how organizations can optimize their strategies to drive better outcomes.

Chirag Bhatia kicked off the discussion by highlighting the dual nature of modern marketing. He remarked, “Today, there are two different aspects of marketing. We call it the art and the science of marketing. While the art angle is the creative side of communication, the science involves segmentation, targeting, planning, and a critical component – measurement. Measurement enables every marketer to make the right decisions, ensuring brands make the right marketing choices.”

He then posed a question to the panelists – In a digital-first world, with over 900 million people online in India, what should be an organization’s objective and strategy towards marketing measurement, and what key metrics should they focus on?

Mihir Wakharkar was the first to respond, emphasizing the increased complexity that comes with digital marketing. “We are moving towards being digital-first. What has technically changed is that there is a lot of instrumentation involved as soon as you go digital. Measurement has become a lot more complex than before,” he noted.

Wakharkar explained how digital marketing introduces numerous tools and lines of attribution, making customer journeys more non-linear. “The journey has become much more complex. A customer can go back and forth before making a purchase, and multitouch attribution allows us to track what led to that purchase,” he added.

Wakharkar also pointed out the importance of mobile in today’s digital landscape. “One critical factor is that we need to fight for space on the mobile, which is limited for every user. If that space is not utilized effectively, your app might be removed from the phone, making measurement and tracking even more vital,” he said.

Nishant Nayyar echoed Wakharkar’s sentiments and expanded on the importance of tracking every customer interaction. He said, “I think every touchpoint a customer interacts with, from a brand perspective, is a placeholder for tracking. That could be a website, an offline store, a personal DM on Instagram, or an email feedback. Marketers need to look at this crisscross of interactions, make sense of it, and then identify the north star of the business.”

Nayyar stressed on the importance of understanding customer cohorts and their behaviours, especially in businesses that operate both online and offline. “For us, website metrics matter, contact center metrics matter, and the ratio of people buying products in-store versus online also matters. Any touchpoint where a customer can reach out to a brand should be tracked.”

Sanket Narkar brought a unique perspective from the education sector, where marketing strategies are heavily content-driven. :For education, it is mainly the freemium model that you give, which is primarily academic content. The primary metric that we look at is how many students are viewing the content and the engagement on that topic,” he said.

Narkar highlighted the importance of monitoring organic content performance, particularly on platforms like YouTube. “Our marketing happens mainly on YouTube. We have over a hundred channels and ship about 8,000 hours of content every week. Checking comments and reviewing whether the content is working are key metrics for us,” he added.

He also discussed the significance of paid marketing and cost per acquisition (CAC) in the education sector. “When you do paid marketing, CAC is closely monitored because education has to be positive at the first acquisition. Retention can be far-fetched, but it’s crucial if your content is strong,” he stressed.

The panel discussion provided a comprehensive look at the evolving landscape of marketing measurement in a digital-first world. From the complexities introduced by digital tools and mobile platforms to the importance of tracking every customer touchpoint and understanding unique industry dynamics, the conversation underscored the need for marketers to adapt their strategies. As the digital landscape continues to grow, the ability to measure and optimize marketing efforts accurately will be more critical than ever for driving success.

These are edited excerpts. For the complete panel discussion, please watch below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDZZZxiahKk