The Sucking Manifesto

THESUCKING

MANIFESTOA book by Steve Jackson & Markus Sandelin

ANYONE CAN DO IT.

BUT IT’S NOT EASY.

WE ALL SUCKThe next 30 minutes

PROOF WE SUCK

LEARN BY SUCKING

IT SUCKS TO BE NUMBER TWO,BUT AT LEAST YOU KNOW WHERE YOU STAND.

WE ALL SUCK

WHEN A CARPENTER BUILDS A CHAIR, HE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT HE WILL END

UP WITH.

WHEN WE START, WE ARE CLUELESS.

“HOW YOU MEASURE SUCCESS DEPENDS ON HOW YOU DEFINE SUCCESS.”

WE SUCK BECAUSE WE DON’T KNOW WHAT SUCCESS IS

WE SUCK BECAUSE WE SPEND LOADS OF MONEY ON GETTING EYEBALLS.

AWARENESS IS A BY-PRODUCT OF GOOD MARKETING.

WE SUCK BECAUSE WE USE NUMBERS LIKE AN EMOTIONAL CRUTCH.

OH WOW WE GOT TEN THOUSAND VISITORS TODAY!

WE SUCK BECAUSE WE COMMUNICATE LIKE THE NERDS WE ARE.

HAVE YOU AMPLIFIED YOUR CPA CONVERSION THROUGH YOUR BI DB YET?

WE SUCK BECAUSE WE DON’T KNOW HOW PLAY WITH THE HIPPOS.

HIPPOS ARE A MAN’S BEST FRIEND. MUCH BETTER THAN DOGS.

WE SUCK BECAUSE WE DON’T (KNOW HOW TO) SHARE OUR DOINGS.

LEFT HAND, WE’D LIKE TO INTRODUCE MS. RIGHT HAND.

WE SUCK BECAUSE INSTEAD OF BUILDING A HOUSE, WE ARE POLISHING

OUR HAMMER.

THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE RIGHT JOB.

WE SUCK BECAUSE WHEN WE FINALLY KNOW WHAT TO DO, WE SCREW IT UP.

SORRY SIR, WE’RE NOT JUST A 100% ON THAT.

WE SUCK BECAUSE WE’VE LOST THE CONFIDENCE IN NUMBERS.

IT’S 42, SIR. I THINK. I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS THOUGH.

1. We have no goals or objectives2. We waste cash & resources3. We communicate like nerds4. We sit in a goldfish bowl5. We don’t plan well enough to do things right6. We use the numbers for support not to take action7. And when we get it wrong we lose confidence8. Every business does it

SO, WE SUCK BECAUSE

PROOF THAT WE SUCK

DEFINE THE CUSTOMER LIFECYCLES

STEP 1 - DEFINE

0"

20"

40"

60"

80"

100"

120"

140"

0" 50" 100" 150" 200" 250" 300" 350" 400"

Campaign(CTR((

WE SUCKED SO BAD BEFORE TESTING THAT WE COULD IMPROVE

CONVERSION IN SIGN-UPS TO A NEWSLETTER BY 268% AGAINST

THE BENCHMARKS.

STEP 2 - TEST LIFECYCLES

IT SUCKED. WE FOUND OUT THE RE-PURCHASE PHASES WEREN’T WORKING NO MATTER WHAT WE

DID.

STEP 3 - TEST LIFECYCLES

WE LEARNED THAT 60% OF THE NEW CUSTOMERS WERE NOT

REACTING AFTER THE PURCHASE TO ANYTHING WE DID.

ONE TYPE OF MESSAGE WAS 25% BETTER THAN AVERAGE.

STEP 4 - TEST LIFECYCLES

1. After setting up we found some outstandingly bad campaigns2. We could improve from our baseline by 268% on new prospects 3. We were using the wrong channels to reach new customers4. We were using the wrong message to reach old customers5. And the lifecycle ended much sooner than we thought

THE PRESTIGE

LEARN BY SUCKING

WHAT IS THE VALUE CREATED IN $?

START BY SETTING THE GOALS

WHAT IS THE CHANCE OF THAT VALUE HAPPENING AGAIN?

START BY SETTING THE GOALS

SPEND MONEY TO MAKE MONEY

SET YOUR COSTS TO REASONABLE LEVELS

!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!Benchmark! !! !! !! >5.52%! >7.29%! !! <€1!!!! !!RePurchase*Phase* Sent! Opens! Clicks!Average!Open!Rate! Average!CTR! Cost! CPC!Notes! !!In!Tolerance! 3731013! 836493! 147632! 22.42%! 17.65%! €2,157,310.13! €14.61!Stop!Campaigns!Stopped!at!Open!Rate! 258516! 8205! 3906! 3.17%! 47.61%! €61,703.15! €15.80!Stop!Campaigns!Stopped!at!Click!Thru!Rate! 441794! 120887! 6768! 27.36%! 5.60%! €320,417.94! €47.34!Stop!campaigns!!! !! !! !! !! PotenNal!Cost!Saving! €2,477,728.07! !! #!Campaigns! 653!

!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!!! !!Benchmark! !! !! !! >7.5%! >!30%! !! <€1!!!! !!Prospect*Phase* Sent! Opens! Clicks!Average!Open!Rate! Average!CTR! Cost! CPC!Notes! !!In!Tolerance! 18179123! 3390841! 1751413! 18.65%! 51.65%! €1,337,791.23! €0.76!OK! !!Stopped!at!Open!Rate! 7349359! 178787! 122832! 2.43%! 68.70%! €121,493.59! €0.99!OK! !!Stopped!at!Click!Thru!Rate! 1897999! 354504! 82272! 18.68%! 23.21%! €190,969.97! €2.32!Review!campaigns!!! !! !! !! !! PotenNal!Cost!Saving! €190,969.97! !!#!Campaigns! 345!!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!!! !!

!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!Benchmark! !! !! !! >2%! >14.5%! !! <€1!!!! !!New*Customer*Phase* Sent! Opens! Clicks!Average!Open!Rate! Average!CTR! Cost! CPC!Notes! !!In!Tolerance! 1138981! 211417! 60098! 18.56%! 28.43%! €171,389.81! €2.85!Review!Campaigns!Stopped!at!Open!Rate! 78998! 9! 4! 0.01%! 44.44%! €4,284.33! €1,071.08!Stop!Campaign!Stopped!at!Click!Thru!Rate! 450230! 113907! 9125! 25.30%! 8.01%! €60,502.30! €6.63!Stop!Campaigns!!! !! !! !! !! PotenNal!Cost!Saving! €64,786.63! !! #!Campaigns! 56!!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

HERE’S WHAT WE MADE EARLIER.

KNOW WHERE THE PEOPLE COME FROM, VALUE THEM BY CHANNEL.

TAKE AIM BEFORE YOU SHOOT.

THE HIPPO LOVED IT.

HE HIRED FIVE NEW PEOPLE TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.

SO WHAT HAPPENED?

HERE ARE THE EIGHT STEPS IN EVERY PROJECT

DEFINE YOUR CUSTOMER

STEP 1 OF 8

DEFINE WHEN THEY STOP BEING ONE

STEP 2 OF 8

DEFINE THE COSTS AND VALUE OF A CUSTOMER

STEP 3 OF 8

DEFINE THE LIKELIHOOD OF A REPEAT CUSTOMER

STEP 4 OF 8

STOP THE CHURN

STEP 5 OF 8

FIND AND USE THE BEST CHANNELS, PER LIFE CYCLE STAGE

STEP 6 OF 8

TEST EVERYTHING

STEP 7 OF 8

LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS

STEP 8 OF 8

THANK YOU

THESUCKING

MANIFESTOA book by Steve Jackson & Markus Sandelin

WWW.THESUCKINGMANIFESTO.COM