Press cuttings folder 5 inch thick.

174 colour seps.

15 feature articles.

196,357 emails sent.

18 print ads.

8932 tweets.

34,921 visits.

31 blog posts.

10,000 brochures designed and printed.

125 posters for stockists.

All of the above are outputs.

You brief agencies to help you with outputs.

“We need someone to help us write some blogs you know?” say marketers.

What you don’t brief agencies on is desired outcomes.

What you may also not be doing is tying those outputs to some sort of outcome.

5000 new leads.

30% increase in new architects in CRM.

200% brand recall.

Shift in product sentiment.

3000 sign ups.

10,000 registrations.

300 subscribers.

And so on.

So start with outcomes.

Then outputs.

You never know, sometimes the smallest changes can generate the biggest outcomes.

You may not require 125 posters , 10,000+ email broadcasts or 34,921 visits to have generated some uplift somewhere.

So who should care about outcomes?

You should. The marketer.

You know what will get you a pay rise?

Focusing on outcomes.

Then improving those outcomes.

Improving outcomes by becoming more efficient and smarter.

Not necessarily by spending more or doing more.

[blockquote type=”testimonial” author=”Dave Trott” role=”Author of Predatory Thinking” image=”http://priteshpatel.me/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/dave-trott.png”]”Brand is only one of the possible ways to sell. But, as far as most planners are concerned, it’s now the only way that anybody buys anything. You’ve heard the expression: ‘when the only tool you’ve got is a hammer, every problem look like a nail.’ Well, most planners only have one tool, so every problem looks like a branding issue. They don’t even consider the business problem.”

Let me give you an example. When AMV had to repitch  for Sainsbury’s (supermarket), they sat down and discussed branding issues. How could they change the brand to attract more people into the store? It was depressing because the brief from the client was to increase Sainsbury’s turnover by ₤3billion over the next two years. And, however much you change the brand, you’re not going to attract ₤3 billion of business away from your competitors.”

Then a young planner said: ‘Forget the brand for a minute, and look at the numbers. Sainsbury’s has 14 million store visits a week. That’s  three-quarters of a billion stores visits a year. If we can increase the value of each store visit by an average ₤1.50, we’ll have increased revenue by ₤3 billion over two years.’ And because she said that, the ‘try something different today’ campaign was born. That’s the sort of planner I, and every creative, want to work with.[/blockquote]

Simple.