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Outsider Insights | You Built Something Different. Your Messaging Made It Sound the Same.
Outsider Insights
Across Chief Outsiders, we talk to hundreds of CEOs every month. In this series, we explore the trends and challenges we’re hearing from these discussions – and what you can do if you’re facing the same issues in your business.
Outsider Insights | You Can't Measure AI ROI If You Can't Measure Marketing ROI
Tue, Apr 28, 2026 — Executive Takeaways Most mid-market companies lack the measurement foundation to evaluate AI — or any marketing investment. Hours saved, speed to market, and revenue realized are the three key AI ROI markers — baseline required. AI amplifies what's working. If measurement is broken, AI won't fix it. Real results start with a defined problem and a way to measure it — not the tool. Outsider Insights Across Chief Outsiders, we talk to hundreds of CEOs every month. In this series, we explore the trends and challenges we’re hearing from these discussions – and what you can do if you’re facing the same issues in your business.
Beating Industry Benchmarks
Fri, Jul 18, 2025 — In my previous blog, I discussed a fast way to assess relative marketing performance, and covered proven approaches to improving six industry benchmark-based Key Performance Indicators (reach, share, engagement, loyalty, pipeline, and progression) that can boost overall marketing effectiveness. Today, I’m going to review some of the key findings from recent research around Marketing benchmarks. I’ll select key metrics from each of these three benchmarks and their implications for optimizing marketing performance.
Rapid Marketing Performance Improvement
Mon, Jun 23, 2025 — With tariffs, the Middle East and trade tensions increasing the odds of a near-term recession and persistent inflation, it's more important than ever for CEO’s to increase marketing’s overall performance and the ROI of every marketing dollar spent. I created the Marketing Performance Index and Assessment to help CEO’s and their organizations quickly assess relative marketing performance. The Marketing Performance Assessment is an objective way of quantifying the impact of Marketing.
A CEO’s Guide to Marketing Performance | Measuring Performance (and Underperformance)
Thu, Feb 6, 2025 — Part 3 of A CEO's Guide to Marketing Performance In the marketing world, performance is the difference maker - not experience, expertise, effort, or endurance, just results. This article is about how to address underperformance in the three major measurement components (Market Presence, Brand Strength, and Pipeline Health), and six key performance indicators (reach, share, engagement, loyalty, pipeline, and progression).
A CEO’s Guide to Marketing Performance | Metrics Matter
Thu, Jan 9, 2025 — Part 2 of A CEO's Guide to Marketing Performance Metrics matter now more than ever. As a six-time CMO over a 16-year career, I’ve tracked dozens (actually hundreds) of metrics and found that many measures are ultimately meaningless or only matter to marketers.
7 KPIs That Should be in Your 2024 Growth Plan
Fri, Nov 3, 2023 — Accelerating Growth In 2024 with Strategic Business Planning, Part 4 For modern-day businesses, establishing measures is not just a good idea – it’s a downright necessity. In fact, a poll of executive leaders found a nearly unanimous agreement that key performance indicators (KPIs) are essential to gauge the pulse of broad business goals.
Eliminate Marketing Info Overload with These 10 KPIs
Mon, May 1, 2023 — Not one of you reading this blog would disagree: We live in a world of information overload. At your company, data likely streams in by the petabyte – sales figures, consumer habits, competitive information, big picture, small picture, and so forth.