A reliable metric or measure in marketing is one that is consistent over time and stable over comparable conditions. There are three types of metric reliability: [1]
| Type of Reliability | Assesses |
| Test-retest | The same metric on the same sample at different times |
| Inter-rater | The same metric(s) rated by different people |
| Parallel | Different versions of the metric designed to be equivalent to each other |
A metric itself may be unreliable, or it may appear unreliable because of an external bias in the measurement process. An example of an unreliable metric is on-air recall, which was the paramount advertising copy testing measure in the 1960’s and 1970’s. In the late 1970’s it was shown that on-air recall scores varied significantly depending upon the engagement level of the program in which the advertisement was shown. If the source of the external bias is identified and an appropriate adjustment is made, reliability can be attained.
“Reliable” is one of the 10 Characteristics of an Ideal Metric designated by the Marketing Accountability Standards Board. [2]
References
- Accountable Marketing: Linking marketing actions to financial performance, 1st Edition; Eds. Stewart, David W. & Gugel, Craig; Routledge, 2016.
- Universal Marketing Dictionary Project, 2023.