Traditional, one way broadcast industrial marketing relied on The Plan.

The Plan was the bible that was prepared months in advance of launch, that everyone was working towards and from which there was no deviation.

This is all well and good… unless The Plan itself is wrong.

In today’s fragmented, two way Connection Economy, it’s harder than ever to tell in advance that any particular Plan is ‘the one’.

And actually, we don’t need to.

Marketing online allows us to setup not just one ‘Plan’ to the masses, but multiple split test variations to multiple target markets in parallel and let our audience/s tell us in real time which appeal is ‘the one’.

Assuming an appropriate sample size, in just seven days, we can feedback insights from our first set of split tests into the next, continuously refining our marketing based on what has already worked – the marketing version of agile development.

The news is even better for advertisers, as this same real time feedback means we are constantly taking budget away from campaigns that aren’t working and redirecting that budget towards campaigns that are working – over time, your advertising gets better and better.

In the Industrial Economy, rely on The Plan and pray that its right.

In the Connection Economy, constantly feed your winners and starve your losers.

ps. HT to my mentor, Eben Pagan, for this phrase I use on an almost daily basis