Numbers Don’t Lie
By: Gabe Rocha
Over here at BDM, we have a secret motto that has seeped into every crevice of what we do. The secret motto? “Check the numbers”. Even today, I was asked by a coworker to add an additional line item to a report to better help us understand the results. Whether it is setting up the appropriate number of weeks for a test to run or determining the right CPM for a new campaign, we seem to be constantly working around “the numbers.”
We do this because numbers do not lie. In checking the numbers, we can find out if a media buy met our initial performance expectations. Was the CPM too high? Was the time slot not the best for the product? Were there dates missed for airtime on a campaign? The list of questions could go on and on! And in the results of determining an answer, the more data that you have, the more “truth“ there is available to you. However, what exactly does that mean?
To the average onlooker, the sales & marketing process can blur together. Everything that can be questioned, will be questioned. However, the point here is, the more data that you can track, the more accurately you can paint a picture of the ever-elusive puzzle that is marketing. Record when and where you can. Because the more data that you can observe and report on, the more “answers” you will have about the reasoning of your successes. So whatever you do next, whether checking a report or planning a new ad campaign, always remember to “check the numbers.”
