After working with literally thousands of clients over the last 35 years I have often pondered how my client's current process and plans will ever get them from point A to point B. Often these are start-ups and seem to follow the old rue; "Ready - Fire - Aim". Sure, when budgets are tight this is an easy method to fall into.
Limited funding is no excuse for not doing a little testing of your hypothesis as well as doing a little testing with real life data. Recently a great book came out called the "Lean Startup", by Eric Ries where he talks about the basic principal of A/B testing (which is different than trying to get from point A to point B). Here is Eric talking at Stanford University (start the video at about 28 minutes if you want to skip ahead).
This is exactly the process that Google has employed when you sign up for their Goolge WebMaster program. This all revolves around strategic tools you can use to create a plan, then evaluate the plan, then "Pivot" to the more attractive solution (did A or B do better?). Then the next concept is the "continious path to scale". Quote: "Today’s software tools are able to both prototype and scale. I call it a 'continuous path to scale' because you don’t have to make these tradeoffs. This is true not just in tech but in marketing, sales, and bizdev too", Eric Ries Entrepreneur, founder of the Lean Startup methodology. http://sprouter.com/ericries?page=5 ).
This process used to be called the "The Strategic Planning Process" Where you create a Strategic Target and then develop Plans, Policies and Procedures to reach those Objectives (capitalize on opportunities).
Each SBU (strategic business unit) is made of a myriad of opportunities really. Now you need to evaluate and prioritize them so that you can create a plan, targeting the mostly likely desired outcome with the available resources. With everything going to the web these days you can add a few more steps to create a testing (validation) platform and real time feedback loop before you spend any money actually building anything.
So, before you create an elaborate business plan and spend a lot of money, figure out what is the scalability, what is the relevant market size (interest) for your plans. Where I see most people get stopped is not this idea of creating "testing" or landing pages on their web site for different messages it is way back at the beginning... What business are you in? What is the size of that opportunity. What real resources do you (your channel, the market) have to implement and exploit that plan.
This FIRST STEP is often overlooked, hence the Ready, Fire, Aim problem. The original premise being tested made no sense in the first place. They started with some idea that came from on high (the boss) and never vetted that idea first. Eric Riese talks about this here regarding "Test Before You Build"
I use what I call an "Attractiveness" model to develop a value proposition for each SBU. Historically these models are the result of consulting firms and large corporate MBA teams who have honed these ideas down to just a one page graphic. Here is what is known as the GE Matrix or sometimes called the McKinsey Matrix
By taking your elements of an individual SBU or as entire universe of all SBUs and placing them into a competitive grid you can develop an attractiveness model for your objective. You can also apply this to competitors and make a competitiveness model or what is sometimes called an "Indifference Model". Using your "Attractiveness" model simply add values to each cell and find that SBU or element with the highest score which will appear in the "most valuable cell" which on the GEMatrix is the upper left hand corner of the grid. Comparing resources, talent, market size, competitive landscape and more will give you a more complete model.
Using an attractiveness model, then applying an A/B testing methodology may give you some surprises. OK that means it is time to PIVOT. Change or modify the original goals and start over... the key here is keep iterating. Keep testing.
None of this is new except when I talk to clients about generating traffic to their websites using SEO techniques. Often they are focused on the wrong elements to optimize. Our attractiveness model should be dictating where we want buyers to come from and what we are going to sell them and when (in the cycle).
Optimizing elements that are too early in the selling process and you only end up with attracting not buyers but "tire kickers". Most companies don't realize that for the attractiveness model process to work it requires several interactions to bring the prospect back to the desired content site before they will become a customer. So, not only do prospective customers need to find your organization but they need to want what you offer and you need to be in front of them at the time they are ready to buy.
I have a number of other blog entries (here) that talk about developing the sales funnel and sales process but key to all of this is delivering content that your client wants to consume when they are ready to consume it. I think a former business partner of mine said it best; "Be Read, Be Remembered, Be the one they call". Jim Cecil http://www.nurturemarketing.com/.
