What the Prius can teach about B2B Marketing Analytics

Anyone who has driven in a Prius is aware that it is an interesting experience, different than in most other cars. However, can it really teach us about B2B Marketing Analytics?

I think the answer is yes.

If you look at the dashboard of the Prius, it has some interesting data. Mainly, it shows you your energy consumption, and your gas mileage in Miles Per Gallon. The data is right in front of you, and continuously updated.

It is interesting in that there are no compensation plans, MBOs, or commission structures associated with your gas mileage, but every Prius driver will report the same effect - you change your driving habits. Just by having the metrics in front of you, you feel compelled to do the behaviours that drive the number in the right direction; accelerating gently, not driving too fast, braking slowly.

This works in B2B marketing too. Socializing metrics can drive behaviour, regardless of compensation plans and MBO objectives associated with those metrics. If your marketing organization does not share, socialize, and discuss metrics on campaign response, you may be surprised at what happens if you do.

We all react naturally to seeing metrics in front of us on our behaviour, and much like in driving a Prius, if we see that our marketing campaigns are not influencing buying behaviour, are not driving inquiries, or are not guiding leads to become marketing qualified leads, we will likely stop those activities.