Definition
CIR stands for Continuous Improvement in Return. Developed by the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB), the CIR planning process is a method of planning for marketing funding, based upon the principles of CIR, most notably: teams compete for funding for their respective brands and vehicles based upon proven (or at least plausible) ability to help hit overall financial metrics. [1]
In marketing, a roadmap is a plan or guide to show how something is arranged or can be accomplished. [3] A CIR roadmap includes the following:
Better practice – a documented method of operating that yields a higher level of performance than other operating behaviors. [1]
Central funding – the practice of funding all marketing investments from a single source, which releases funding based primarily upon the likelihood of success against the common financial metric. [1] For example, if digital, experiential, regional, and/or retail marketers each receive funding from different sources, this would suggest a marketing team that is not well governed. [2]
Continuous improvement – profitable growth is (predicted and) achieved over set periods of rolling times over time; return is increased cycle over cycle. [1]
Continuous improvement orientation – a culture built on ensuring that profitable growth is predicted and achieved over set periods of rolling times over time and that return is increased cycle over cycle (e.g., if marketing leaders only use measurement to justify annual funding, this marketing team is not well governed). [2]
Cross-functional team – a collaboration across functions (marketing, sales, finance). It provides feedback business leaders need as they select their key metrics (e.g., MROI or CLTV) and strives to improve returns in a way consistent with other enterprise functions (e.g., sales, finance). [2]
“If your marketing folks are focused on improving brand image while your sales folks are focused on improving only sales volume or acquisition, they could be working in opposition to each other. A cross-functional team is established to collaboratively work to correct that.” ~ Jane O’Keefe, Director of Marketing Return Optimization at MillerCoors (MASB 2015 Summer Summit)
A cross-functional team with CIR orientation has a focus on continuous improvement, common purpose, common rewards, central funding, and thresholds. [1]
Common financial metric – a metric that can be applied to most or all marketing, and which is easily understood by non-financial people (e.g., long-term profit/cash flow). [1]
Common purpose means that all or most marketing personnel and suppliers are focused on improving against the common financial metric. [1] This single financially relevant metric (e.g., incremental CLTV) is used by all when seeking funding. For example, if digital specialists seek funds based upon web traffic and, separately, experiential specialists seek funds based upon event attendance, this marketing team is not well governed. [2]
Common rewards for marketing personnel and their suppliers—–including pay, promotions, recognition—are based heavily upon success against a common financial metric. [1] For example, if leaders reward promotion specialists for higher short-term sales, and separately reward broadcast specialists for higher awareness, this marketing team is not well governed. [2]
Continuous learning – a process of applying knowledge to the operating process for improved performance. [1]
Governance is a process involving a cross-functional team that focuses on continuous improvement in performance regardless of turnover of individual members of the team. [1]
Integrated databases are a method for managing data from multiple sources and combining it around some type of single ID (e.g. a single customer). They provide marketers and other decision-makers with a unified view of these multiple, sometimes disparate, data sources. [1]
Research-on-research analytics is the process of explaining variance/identifying the causal drivers of the business or human behavior. [1]
Thresholds are defined limits or parameters related to a level of return (i.e., an MROI above 1.0 to 1.5 ). With ever-rising thresholds, the minimum threshold of financial return required to receive marketing funds is raised year over year. In a well-governed environment, funding will only be provided to marketers who can project that their investments will operate within these defined parameters over some reasonable amount of time (e.g., within one to two quarters). If more than half of the marketing funds flow to tactics with no clear connection to the key metric, this marketing team is not well governed. [1]
See also
MASB Continuous Improvement in Return Project
References
- Willard, John. Continuous Improvement in Return (CIR): Project Review & Status. MASB Summer Summit, August 2016, Atlanta.
- O’Keefe, J. Continuous Improvement in Return (CIR). MASB Summit, August 2015.
- Banks, Greg. MASB Standards Project: Continuous Improvement in Return (CIR), February 2015.