Understanding Outcomes

This is the ninth article in a series called “10 Things I Learned from Joanne”. 

In this article, I’ll explain what I learned from Joanne about outcomes.

Joanne O’Connell is the co-author of the book that we recently published called Intentional Marketing: A Systematic Approach to Optimizing Performance. 

Scroll down for a list of other articles in this series.

Outcomes

Before working with Joanne, I would have described an outcome as any of the following:

• More traffic to the website

• More sales

• More revenue

I suppose I hadn’t really thought about an outcome and what that meant.

Joanne’s definition of an outcome is very clear (page 161):

An outcome is the desired behavior by members of the market, as
described and influenced by marketing. In most models, the outcome
is a sale.

To be clear, the outcome is the behavior that you want people in the market to do. 

An outcome is an action. The question for marketers is, “When your market is looking at your product and an offer has been presented, what is the specific action that you want them to do?”

Possible actions in a brick-and-mortar store are to pay for a selected product using:

• Cash

• Debit card

• Credit card

• Or purchase order

For an online store, the typical process is:

1. Select a product

2. Sign in (or create an account)

3. Select the number of items to buy

4. Select a payment method

5. Pay for the product

The other aspect I learned from Joanne is that the outcome is at the end of the customer's journey. In our book, we have identified the generic levels of the Customer Acquisition Model as:

In a nutshell, marketers need to:

• Create Impressions organically or by buying advertisements

• Generate Visitors to the brick-and-mortar store, website or landing page

• Identify potential customers; what we call Prospects

• Offer a product including a price to solve the prospective customer’s problem

• Present the prospective customer with the behavioral Outcome

Types of Outcomes

In most cases for companies that are selling products the outcome will be obvious: pay for the product or service. But there can be situations where the outcome does not involve money and a sale. Some examples include:

1. Free Events
Companies and organizations often offer events that are free. In this case, the outcome is to register without paying. Of course, in most situations, companies are offering a free event for a reason — thanks for a past sale or in anticipation of a future sale.

2. Test Drives and Free Trials
Test drives and trials fall into the same category as free trials. The company is offering something for free but there is always a catch — some ulterior motive. In most cases, the company is attempting to move the person from a “visitor” to a “prospect”. Offering something for free is a way to get people’s attention and motivate them to give up some part of their personal information. 

As outlined in our model, a person becomes a prospect as soon as they can be identified (name) and there is a way to communicate (phone number, email address, or follow) with them (page 162).

3. Voting
Political parties want people to vote for their candidate. In this case, the organization can offer memberships which has a clear outcome but after that, all they can do is influence the outcome and encourage those who are qualified to vote, to vote for their candidate.

4. Survey
When companies do market research, specifically primary research, they can offer a survey for people to complete. In this case, there is no sale. Instead, the company is attempting to gather information. In exchange for this information and to increase the number of responses, companies may give a sample. 

5. Résumés
Another example of a behavioural outcome that does not involve a sale is when companies ask possible candidates for a résumé. In this situation, a company has a job opening and they are looking to hire someone to do the job. Often there will be a form for potential candidates to complete. As part of the form, the company will ask candidates to upload a version of their résumé.  

Prospect as an Outcome 

In the consulting that Joanne and I do, we often encounter companies where the objective of the marketing department is to generate prospects. In marketing speak, these are called Marketing Qualified Leads (as opposed to Sales Qualified Leads). In this case, the function of sales is not within their control. In other words, the function of sales is with a different department. 

A good example is when the marketing department creates a landing page. On the landing page is a free offer like an eBook that the visitor gets in exchange for their contact information. In this situation, the outcome from the marketer’s point of view is to get as many people as possible to fill out the form. 

In the context of the Customer Acquisition Model, the person filling out the form is a prospect. But from the point of view of the marketer, this is the outcome. In this case, the behavior of filling out the form is what the marketer can influence. The marketer has no control or influence over the sale of the products the company is offering. 

Past Articles

The other articles are posted on the Anduro Blog. 

Lesson 1: Each Level of the Model Must be Measurable
In the first lesson, I learned that each level of the marketing and sales model must be measurable. Joanne’s logic is that if you have a level in the model with no measurement, why bother with the level? I agree, wholeheartedly. 

Lesson 2: Measures vs Metrics
In the second lesson, I learned the difference between a measure and a metric. Read the article to discover Joanne’s genius and the magic between collecting and calculating.

Lesson 3: Alignment
In the third lesson, I learned that the basic components of marketing are simple but need to be in “alignment”. You need a product that solves a problem, a market that wants the problem solved (and is willing to pay for the problem-solving product), and a series of marketing activities that connect the market with the product. 

Lesson 4: Inside vs Outside the Model
In the fourth lesson, I learned that Joanne distinguishes between “inside the model” and “outside the model”. This simple but not-so-obvious concept helps to simplify marketing and make it less overwhelming. 

Lesson 5: The Stupidity of Ignorance
In the fifth lesson, I learned that people who design and develop a model of what is happening in marketing are much better able to see what is happening. In other words, they move from a position of ignorance to a position of understanding and enlightenment. In Joanne’s words, “People can do better.”

Lesson 6: Classifying Situations
In the sixth lesson, I learned from Joanne that from a high level, there can be issues with the product, the market, or marketing – or any combination of these. Classifying your company’s situation is the next step. In short, there are only a few situations that make logical sense. 

Lesson 7: The Value of Estimating
In the seventh lesson, I learned from Joanne that estimating involves thinking and asking questions. By Joanne’s standards, this means doing a lot more thinking and asking many questions than I do naturally. I have to set time aside to think and develop questions consciously.

Lesson 8: The Importance of Impressions
In the eighth lesson, I learned from Joanne that paying attention to impressions is important. In the article, I outline 5 reasons why.