Distilled with learnings from many challenging as well as ‘ah-ha!’ project moments, this aims to be a simple yet thorough process that can be easily adapted to different needs.
Something I strongly believe in currently is to identify only a few important things to track + improve, then keep a laser sharp focus on them until they are doing well. It is easy to get overwhelmed with too much data or try to do too much. (time-stamp of belief ~ early 2021)
Why the emphasis on simplicity in measurement plans?
Eagerness and overzealousness often go hand-in-hand. So it’s quite common to do many things averagely and not many things amazingly. Simplicity is faster and easier to execute and improve upon. Moreover, simplicity does not mean that our results will be unimpressive or small.
The process takes you through these 5 steps:
Follow this link to download a soft copy of this guide & the corresponding workbook.
Tracking standards and tools are constantly updated (e.g. GA4) so check to see if there are new considerations you need to keep in mind as you go through these steps.
Step 1 : The Prime Objective
The aims of this is to craft a one page outline summarising the purpose and value of your experience/site. This ensures expectations are not misinterpreted and that everyone on your team has the same goals in sight.
Step 2 : Paths to Success
This section details key conversion pathways that need tracking and measurement attention. Pathways can also be viewed as funnels that move users to the most valuable actions we want them to make.
A good way to start any pathway is with actions that require little effort or commitment, then gradually move towards actions that ask more and more of users.
Here’s an example of a path to success for an objective of increasing purchases under $75:
Step 3 : Measurement Indicators
This section focuses on which specific metrics point to success or failure of your objectives. Deciding these early avoids realising later that there aren’t enough data points for evaluation.
Each pathway detailed in step 2 should have corresponding measurement indicators worked out. Here’s an example of what this can look like:
Step 4 : Action Plans
The aim is to detail actions will be taken when triggered by indicators decided upon in Step 3.
Working out next-steps concretely avoids the uncertainty of “Now what?” after measurement has started. It also ensure teams and resources are ready for you (especially useful for AB testing situations that demand speedy responses).
Here’s an example of next-steps needed for one set of positive and negative indicators:
Step 5 : Implementation Details
This scan get quite technical and is sometimes considered tedious by marketing teams, who then try not to get overly involved.
Step 5 works to document details for implementation into Google Analytics, Tag Manager and other sales or campaign platforms. Specifics can include how events are tracked, how cookies needed work and goal definition criteria.
This is usually the step that suffers from insufficient attention and the results is limited usability of the collected data collected. Spend as much time as you can spare getting this right and you will benefit greatly.
Here is a bare-bones example of what this step should produce:
Follow this link to download a soft copy of this guide & the corresponding workbook.
In Summary
What you measure and how you react to data will constantly change. Don’t expect any plan decide upon to stay constant or unaltered for long.
Things change … very quickly. Many measurement projects I’ve worked on start evolving as quickly as within 2 to 3 weeks of roll-out. Adapt and react quickly.
And have fun on this roller-coster ride!
ABOUT JERMYN TOH
A performance marketing and measurement specialist with 20 years of experience. Passionate about data, I enjoy finding ways to leverage these to understand behaviour. Available for measurement planning, tracking analytics and Tag Manager work.
