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💊 Making most of the Period of costs in Marketo

What is a Period Cost? 🏷️

Is the defined budget or amount spent on a program, which you add in the program’s Setup tab. This cost data is essential for tracking financial insights and is the foundation for several Marketo reporting features.

Why Are Period Costs Important? 💡

  1. Required for RCA & Performance Insights: Programs without period costs won’t appear in Revenue Cycle Analytics (RCA) or Performance Insights. These tools rely on period cost data to assess financial metrics across campaigns, so leaving this blank results in gaps in your analysis.
  2. Detailed Metrics: RCA reports, like Program Cost Analysis and Program Revenue Stage Analysis, use period costs to display metrics by Cost Year, Cost Quarter, and Cost Month. Insights such as Cost Per New Name and Return on Investment (ROI) require period costs to be meaningful.

How Are Period Costs Calculated? 🧮

To understand how period costs are used in reporting, consider a scenario where costs and contacts are acquired across different months around a key event:

  1. Build and Maintain a Quality Database: Create a batch Smart Campaign with a "Member of Smart Campaign" filter, selecting the deactivated campaign.
  2. Optimize Timing and Content for Engagement: Send emails at optimal times to reach subscribers when they’re most attentive. Use engaging, personalized content beyond just names to increase relevance and click-through rates.
  3. Enhance Inbox Placement: Focus on inboxing techniques to ensure emails land in primary inboxes instead of spam folders. Improve email structure, authentication, and content quality for better visibility.
  4. Segment and Target Based on Engagement: Segment audiences by activity levels to improve relevance and engagement. Target active subscribers more frequently and approach dormant ones strategically.
  5. Design for Mobile and Accessibility: With most emails opened on mobile, ensure designs are mobile-friendly and responsive. Use text-based calls-to-action and avoid image-only CTAs to improve accessibility and visibility across devices.
  6. Consistently Test and Refine Strategies: Conduct regular A/B testing on key elements like subject lines and calls-to-action to understand what resonates. Continuously optimize your approach based on data insights.

Which Costs To Include? 💸

Include variable costs (e.g., agency fees, PPC fees, event sponsorships) specific to each program. Avoid fixed costs like salaries, which are better suited for financial tools. Focusing on variable costs keeps reports actionable and allows for clean program comparisons.

Managing Ongoing Programs and Non-Variable Costs 🔄

For programs without specific variable costs (e.g., web forms or email programs), add a $0 period cost so they still show in RCA and Performance Insights. For ongoing programs, like a year-long campaign, set up a period cost for each month to ensure consistent data across your reports.

How To Allocate Costs? 📅

Add costs to the month a program launches to clarify when activities occurred. Marketo shows summed totals per period, so consolidating into one monthly entry simplifies reporting.

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