The final letter in the STRATEGY Framework is Y - Yield. Here’s why a full post-campaign analysis is more important than you might realise.
“Measurement and metrics is an area that can define the success of a strategy or that can be the cause of its downfall. The problem for me with metrics is that they are very often seen as the north-star goal for someone owning an objective, which can easily drive the wrong behavior. This is a topic that could fill a book so all I’ll say here is that metrics should always be viewed collectively, never in isolation.” - Ade Lewis, Marketing Director, Mailchimp
There’s a temptation to just move on to the next thing when a campaign is over. If it’s achieved its objective, why linger over something that’s passed?
Well, in the ninth chapter of my book, ‘Marketing Strategy’, I explain why analysing a strategy’s performance as a whole is not only important, but necessary.
When writing ‘Marketing Strategy’, I interviewed Ade Lewis, Marketing Director of Mailchimp. His words about metrics and objectives opened this blog - and I completely agree with him. Yes, it’s important to track KPIs and objectives while a campaign is ongoing - but marketers should never lose sight of the bigger picture.
For a true idea of what you’re doing well, what’s not working, how audiences are responding to you, and more, you need to take a holistic view of your campaign as a whole.
Usually, that means conducting a full analysis at (or near) the end of your campaign.
To illustrate why thoroughly analysing campaigns is important, here’s an extract from my book:
“Why is analysis important?
Allow me to relate the cautionary tale of British Gas and the Twitter War.
British Gas once ran an infamous Twitter event. The idea was for customers to ask the Customer Services Director questions about their recent 9.2% price rise using the hashtag #askBG.
And ask they did. Over 11,500 tweets were sent using the hashtag - approximately 160 every minute (Macleod, 2013). Pretty much all of them were negative. The price rise was hugely unpopular, not to mention controversial within the industry. Customers took full advantage of the opportunity to tell BG how they felt. In public, on Twitter, for all to see.
This Twitter event went from bad to worse for British Gas, so much so that experts have called it ‘one of the worst PR disasters’ (Macalister & Rankin, 2013) ever on social media.
There was a fundamental lack of understanding on the part of British Gas about their customers. A simple review of the audience’s historical reaction to similar price rise news would have provided the British Gas team with a robust prediction on the outcome of this marketing activity.
It's always tricky to find the right marketing approach when communicating unpopular decisions, but it's essential to make sure that the strategy uses online channels to soften the blow, not make it even harder to receive the news.”
To avoid a PR disaster like this, it’s important that you learn how to Yield the results of your STRATEGY.
The penultimate chapter of my book, ‘Marketing Strategy’, will teach you:
- The importance of analysing marketing strategies and campaigns
- How to understand statistical significance
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for marketing and specific tactical channels; SEO, PPC, Social Media, DM and Email Marketing.
- What a Post Campaign Analysis (PCA) is, and how to create one.
Plus, you’ll find the rest of that interview with Ade Lewis, in which he shares expert insights on everything from marketing for SMEs to AI and more.
I’ll leave you with what Ade Lewis said when he read ‘Marketing Strategy’. If a world-renowned expert like Ade is a fan, you know it’s got to be good!
"Jenna’s Marketing Strategy will provide you with the approach, understanding and framework to create and execute a considered business marketing strategy that is primed for success. If you are new to marketing then this book could easily form the foundation of your marketing career. For experienced marketers, there is still plenty to learn.”
Ade Lewis, Marketing Director, Mailchimp
Want to be a world-beating marketer? Get your copy of ‘Marketing Strategy’’ here!
About Jenna Tiffany
Jenna Tiffany, award-winning marketer, has been recognized as one of the top 50 marketers to follow in the world. She is the Founder and Strategy Director at marketing agency Let’sTalk Strategy, providing strategic consultancy services across the digital marketing mix. She is a Chartered Marketer and awarded Fellow of the Institute of Data & Marketing (IDM) with over ten years’ marketing experience, and has consulted on marketing strategy with brands such as Shell, Hilton and World Duty Free.
Jenna is a keynote speaker, having spoken at hundreds of marketing events worldwide and is an elected member of the prestigious DMA UK Email Marketing Council. Jenna is also a qualified teacher regularly teaching marketing at universities. She regularly gets interviewed for her thoughts on marketing strategy and the latest trends.