Test, then learn

Who judges

We keep testing because we are not the final judge. The person watching the unit decides. A good ad converts. Shares, likes and comments are not the score. The useful signal that someone will buy is that someone already bought.

Making versus firing

Making the content is guessing. Firing it is knowing. We do not get high on our own supply. A unit that does not convert as much as it should is fired fast, even when we know how to judge it.

What the return is for

• Find the leverage on the KPI. That is the only reason the data exists.
• Change the strategy, the content type, the time we give it — or fire it.
• Ask to cut the budget or raise it only when the sale supports the ask.
• Write the learning into memory. The next campaign does not start from zero.

Marketing is testing in perpetuity. Measuring ROI is not doing the thing. It is being good at the thing.