When it comes to marketing, here’s the mother of all questions: how do we know what we’re doing is working?

Yep. It’s a doozy. And a question not easily answered.

The nature of our business has changed over time, but at the end of the day, we are in a thankless job of driving awareness, education, engagement and sales. Even when we drive increases to revenue, we are still met with questions like, “How?” “Why?” and, ultimately, “How do we top that next time?”

We seem to have become the mystical creatures that wave wands and make things happen. And when it comes to whether or not our marketing plans are “working,” the burden of proof is solely on us.

So the big question for marketers now becomes: how do we answer the mother of all questions, “how do we know what we’re doing is working?”?

And that’s what we’re going to discuss in this issue of Thinking.