E-commerce Insights: Multichannel Planning Is a Complex Endeavor

This perspective applies to list rentals and paid search keywords:
• require the portfolio to “work” in aggregate,
• allow your managers discretion in the portfolio, and
• inspect, occasionally, disaggregated performance by list or keyword.

To determine the trade-off curve between advertising and resulting sales, turn to historic data or construct controlled tests. Earmark 5 percent of your marketing budget for testing brand new opportunities. Budget another 5 percent to test “over-marketing” of existing channels: small selects from marginal lists, small ad spends on marginally converting keywords, mailing a bit below your cutoff to your buyer file, and so on. Modest, ongoing over-marketing lets you collect critical data on the shape of your advertising vs. sales trade-off curve.