“To err is human.  But it can be overdone.” – Church Sign Somewhere in America

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no use being a damn fool about it.” – W.C. Fields

In digital marketing, we talk often about the importance of testing.  We preach how you must have the guts to try and the fortitude to fail.  At it’s essence, marketing is about doing more of what works and less of what doesn’t.  For that equation to work, you have to be willing to fail; an experiment is uncertain.

That’s the view from the marketer’s side.  But what about you, the client with a business to run?  Just how much trial and error should you expect to have to endure before it’s overdone?  When do you go from being an adventurous, savvy marketer to a damn fool?

Think of this a bit like cooking (heat + time). Marketing is (data + time).

Captain on the Bridge

In a marketing campaign, you have to allow enough time for the collateral to saturate your market segment.  If not enough people are exposed to it, you won’t know if it worked.

This may sound obvious, but it’s the most common mistake amateurs make when testing their marketing.  From the beginning you need to allow for the campaign to come full circle, even if it means riding towards an end that looks to be a failure.

Digital marketing takes time to develop, and efforts around SEO and social media can take a long time to bear fruit.

Inexperienced marketers will panic when things don’t make a positive jump right away, and bail-out of the campaign before it really gets started.  This is the easiest way to realize your fear (wasting money) out of any scenario.

You also have to wary about what Seth Godin calls the gulf of disapproval.  This is the initial period when you start a venture and most people respond with skepticism.  They think it’s risky, a thin scheme, a solution in search of a problem.

You feel a fool at first, but as you persist more people are won over to your idea, and the gulf surges back-up to majority adoption.  But you’ll never get there if you pull out when the gulf is at it’s biggest – you have to ride that period out.

You’re the captain of this ship, and even if it looks like it will sink, you need to stay on the bridge.  If you’re not prepared to do so, then stay on dry land and save everybody time and money.

Plan and budget accordingly.  The biggest fool is the person who jumps ship too soon, just before striking gold.

The Data Gauge

You use data to help you predict when that rise will happen.  Digital marketing analytics are your gauge as you watch, test, and modify your marketing.  Like the cook, you use a timer, thermometer, and you own palate to set the foundations and test your preparations.

Keep in mind that no great dish was ever prepared just because the cook had the right tools.  Same goes for marketing data.  Data alone  won’t create a great campaign for you.  But it will help you set the parameters and monitor results.  It helps to tweak things as you go and compare finer details of design and word choice.

A wise man once said:  “An error doesn’t become a mistake unless your refuse to correct it.”  Use data to avoid making mistakes.

When you’ve followed the rule of time + data, and discovered that the market isn’t there, then it’s time to cut your losses and make a change.

Don’t let an agency or designer play you for a fool by selling you more services when it’s too late. Not every marketing campaign works, and not every marketing channel is successful for every type of business.

Sometimes (in marketing and in life) the win is finding out what didn’t work.  It lets you eliminate it from your efforts.

There is no valor in continuing to fight a losing battle; there is no success by leaving the battle too soon.