In a digitalized world, digital controlling is becoming increasingly important for corporate communications—both internally and externally. If communication is not targeted, it can be expensive. To find out what value communication has for your company, it is worth using the right measurement methods. It doesn't matter whether you focus on traditional PR, advertising, online marketing, or the newsroom concept. The important thing is that you create added value for the customer. At the same time, you need to request and invest resources for each measure. It is often difficult to measure the success of the measures taken. Nevertheless, it is important in order to be able to determine the appropriate level of the individual budget.
How can you reliably measure and evaluate internal efficiency, communication output—in short, your short-term investment—and the resulting business value creation—i.e., the results of your investment? The discussion about this is not new—and yet it is highly topical.
The advantages of digital controlling
The measurability of communication measures through digital controlling has become particularly important in recent years. New data sources such as web analytics, social media monitoring, search engines, and CRM have proven to be effective means of making communication success immediately measurable. In keeping with the spirit of the times, they are faster—because they make data available in near real time. Digital controlling makes it possible to listen to and understand target groups, thereby creating added value for customers, as it provides unfiltered insight into actual behavior and motives. In short, it helps us understand target groups and take appropriate measures to meet their needs.
If we know how to address our target group correctly, we can compare the measures, costs, and sales in relation to each other and calculate the return on investment (ROI). This gives us a key figure that allows us to measure the results achieved.
Digital controlling is not the same as control
Digital controlling, or controlling in general, cannot be compared to the German term "Kontrolle" (control). It describes a process of goal setting, planning, and management. As a communicator, you must recognize what needs to be achieved, consider how it can be achieved, and ultimately implement it through various activities—in other words, transform it. This is the only way to achieve results. Communication controlling is a specialized form of digital controlling and serves as a tool for gathering facts on the basis of which further activities can be planned and controlled. It thus performs a supporting function for management.
This branch of digital controlling also measures the cost-effectiveness of communication in general: communication is also a cost center within a company. The use of personnel, events, communication products, or even just maintaining a website or other channels has a cost factor that must be in proportion to the desired result. So the question is: What can and must I invest in the short term to achieve positive results in the long term? Digital controlling provides top management with figures on the efficiency and effectiveness of communication activities that justify the associated budget. As part of the corporate value chain, communication thus plays an important role.
In order to identify smaller communication activities and their contribution to the company's value creation, more granular metrics must be found. As a rule, the company's goals are decisive for the goals of corporate communications. In order to clarify the contribution to the former, communication goals are often specified individually. As a result, communication controlling looks slightly different for each company.
Key figures show results
There are now many different models for making corporate communications and their results visible. Almost always, the basis is the establishment of relevant key figures. The measured indicators reveal changes in the measured facts. Some data that is collected in a standardized manner but is often not taken into account can also serve as key figures. One example of this is information on reach and response. With certain limitations, this can also contribute to measuring results, as it helps to evaluate the efficiency of a measure using key figures. It is crucial for all results to be systematically processed or presented in digital controlling – whether as a report, plan, or on a web-based dashboard.
The results of communication work and the efficiency of a company can therefore be assessed through structured communication controlling. This makes results visible and tangible in the form of figures. Communication controlling already has a long history. However, diverse and differentiated approaches show that it also has an interesting future ahead of it. Remember: messages with added value create results.
Yours, Christoph Moss
