What 4th grade taught me about marketing

Think back to your 4th or 5th grade Science class and you may remember the “scientific method.” At the time, I’m sure it didn’t mean much to me, but it’s defiantly hitting home today.

If you recall, the scientific method is a controlled process for conducting scientific experiments. However, the scientific method can also be applied to help explain almost any observation or assumption, including those made about marketing.

When used correctly, the scientific method provides a framework for explaining why some marketing activities create results, while others don’t. To leverage this process and improve the effectiveness of your marketing, follow these steps.

Step 1: Observe

The first step is to make an observation about your marketing. For example, you may have observed that sales increase every time you send a certain Enthusem.com campaign.

Step 2: Make a hypothesis (an assumption)

Using the previous example, because sales seem to increase every time you execute one of your campaigns, you might hypothesize that this is effective. At this point you’ve come up with a tentative explanation for why your campaign is worth investing in. This tentative explanation or assumption in the scientific method is your hypothesis.

Step 3: Make predictions based on your hypothesis

Of course, there are dozens of reasons why sales may increase. But if you believe your campaign caused the sales increase, you can begin to make predictions about what will happen if you run your campaign in the future.

Step 4: Test your predictions and monitor the results

You’ve now predicted that your campaign will succeed in the future but you need to test your predictions by closely monitoring future results. From your monitoring data you’ll likely make further observations and modify your hypothesis based on what you learn.

Step 5: Refine your hypothesis

Finally, repeat steps 3 and 4 until there are no discrepancies between your hypothesis and the outcome of your test campaigns.

When you get to step five, and consistency is obtained, according to the scientific method, your hypothesis becomes a theory. From here all that’s left is proving your theory is a law. If you can get to this point, you may just get a call from the Nobel committee.