Why Movies Yield Better Research Than Photographs

"I checked the actuarial tables, and the lowest death rate is among six-year-olds," Buffett told Fortune. "So I decided to eat like a six-year-old."

Warren Buffett was joking. I think. Warren is a dichotomy. On one hand he is considered one of the brightest minds in the investment community. On the other, his reported diet is close to what a six year would choose, if given the option. Coca-Cola and ice cream for breakfast and Dairy Queen for every thing else.

But I chose this quote for another reason. it shows the danger of acting on simple research. Taken at face value, Warren has a point. The research clearly shows that six year olds have the lowest death rate and based on the "research", a decision has been made and acted upon. Marketers do this everyday.

"It doesn't do any good to sit up and take notice if all you do is keep on sitting."

Observe, record, extract truths and act. Marketing research. But actions based on acts of single event research are dangerous. It is like reviewing a photograph and making a decision based on the information contained in the photograph. What isn't included in the photograph may be more important than what is included. The more accurate method of decision making is to take a string of photographs (research snapshots) and string them together in a movie so you can identify developing trends, then develop your reaction accordingly.

"The very best marketing comes from observing consumer behavior and inserting your message into their behavior."

I have found that the best research is ongoing research. With digital marketing campaigns, I am frequently asked is "what is a good click through rate?" And my response is the same. It doesn't matter.

We are going to measure the movie, not the snapshot, and act accordingly. One of the most powerful aspects of digital marketing lies in the ability to report the ongoing results and optimize the campaign based on the results (research). If your current click through rate is 0.06% (snapshot), then our job is to make changes based on this information to improve the results. So you optimize the campaign by reviewing the web sites you are running on, dropping the poor performers and moving money to sites that are performing, you A/B test the creative, you A/B test the landing pages. In short you "observe consumer behavior and insert your message into their behavior".

And then you measure again. And make improvements again. Optimization does not have to be based on Click Through Rates. It can be based on any KPI. Cost Per Conversion, Cost Per Click. But the decision making should be based on the direction of the campaign results.

Are your decisions making the campaign results better?