Made a Miscalculation in Your Campaign Projections? How to Get Back on Track

On Friday, we discussed common mistakes marketers make when attempting to predict campaign success. Such mistakes can set your marketing efforts back, but they don’t have to cause a disaster. When an incorrect prediction or assumption leads your campaign down the wrong path, it’s still possible to rework the existing strategy to improve results.

When a campaign is struggling to live up to the expectations you set for it, consider the following:

Where are Leads Lost?

Compare your campaign projections to your actual results at every phase of the buyer’s journey. Is there a particular point at which leads are most often lost? Aim to find the weak link in the campaign. Then, instead of scrapping the entire program, you can make a small but effective change where it is needed most.

Is Data Consistent Across Platforms?

Take another look at each set of analytics you collect. Where do they tell a cohesive story about your audience’s response to your campaign, and where do inconsistencies exist? If the analytics from two platforms tell very different stories, you will need to retarget your messaging on the poorly performing channels. For example, if your email campaign is performing exceedingly well on desktop operating systems, but has low click rates on mobile,  you may need to consider developing a second, mobile-optimized version of each of your emails so that your messages can become as effective on mobile as they are on desktop.

Is the Budget Sufficient?

Sometimes, we convince ourselves that we can do more with less. We set budgets that are not sufficient to meet the goals of our campaigns because we believe in the engagement of our networks or the creativity of our ideas. If your campaign is failing to live up to expectations, it may be time to reevaluate the budget you’re putting into it and invest a bit more to get your message in front of a larger or more targeted audience.

If you’ve been using data and analytics since you began to plan your campaign, these questions should be easy to answer and adjustments should help you get back on track. What does your team look at first when a campaign doesn’t live up to expectations?