Selecting the right Channel mix is crucial for successful product releases. Having too many channels erodes budget and adds complexity. Complexity delays product launches and campaign timing.
Missing a key channel can endanger a product release. Don’t leave a channel unclogged for competitors to own.
CMO’s have an opportunity to guide their teams to evaluate available channels. Download the Demand Generation Channel Scorecard.
A Channel is defined as an outlet for your marketing messages. It’s a path to market. Common channels include Email, Search Engines, Banner ads, Tradeshows, etc. CMO’s can help their team make the number in 2014 with channel optimization.
Shortsighted marketing managers only optimize at the Content Type level. Content types may include newsletter, research reports, case studies, ebook, etc. Worse yet marketing teams skip Channels and Content Types by going to Media source. Media sources include Google, Yahoo, Fortune.com, etc. While content types and media outlets are important, the channel is the larger opportunity.
Agile Marketing Approach
I was first exposed to the scorecard tool for optimization in the late 90’s. It was at a time when digital media was ramping up quickly. The process for managing print media was overwhelmed in the digital space. I worked at a large ad agency and met a visionary leader named John McGuigan. John was the VP of Media Services and was a former marketing leader at Best Buy.
What impressed me about John was his tenacity for driving value for our clients. John insisted on using a Scorecard approach to make decisions. He wanted historical performance, audience fit, and cost-to-effectiveness optimization factored into decisions. He pioneered the media scorecard.
Today the complexity of channels requires a scientific approach. The channel scorecard provides the foundation to guide effective decision making.
The scorecard tool provides an exhaustive list of possible attributes. Evaluate the attributes to identify the ideal fit for your company. Weighting is included to provide you the ability to emphasize what is most important.
5 High-leverage Areas to Utilize the Scorecard Tool
- Unfamiliar Channel Sources – This is most common when the Marketing team expands campaigns to a new persona. The team is unfamiliar with the channel sources and has no history. Leverage the scorecard to evaluate sources through known facts. The scorecard helps guide your team through the questions to evaluate and research.
- Evaluation of New Channel Sources – Within an existing campaign, new channels should be added to extend reach. This helps expose net new contacts to your campaigns. The scorecard provides you the framework to compare known sources with net new channels. As you test new sources you can add historical data to the scorecard. This provides an even playing field to test openly with a framework to compare.
- Opportunity Cost Decision Making – Scorecards are a lifesaver when faced with budget limitations. Channel cuts should be made through the lens of a scorecard. Where to focus dollars is performed through a framework. The scorecard is then updated with performance data to optimize further.
- New Product Launch Planning – Developing a product launch requires careful planning of channels. The launch campaign should evaluate all possible channels. The net result is piloting the most effective channel output.
- Campaign Optimization – Across every campaign the ideal campaign fit becomes a fact-driven decision. Cost Per Lead (CPL) metrics are simply one dimension. Fit and historic performance should drive optimization. As more historic data is uncovered, then swap out criteria in the scorecard. Remove fit attributes and replace them with actual data metrics. Data metrics can include:
- Conversion % from Inquiry to Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)
- Conversion % from MQL to Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)
- Conversion % of Inquiry to SQL
- Conversion % of SQL to Opportunity
- Conversion % of Opportunity to Win
- Cost per SQL, Opportunity, and Win
Getting Started
Download the Demand Generation Channel Scorecard here. Then schedule a 60-90 minute meeting with your team to evaluate your channels. Multiple attributes are provided in the scorecard for you to select the most relevant criteria.
If you have any questions or concerns contact me at [email protected] or by connecting via LinkedIn. We’ll spend 30 minutes walking through the Demand Generation Channel Scorecard tool and discuss any gaps.
