What I check before I write next month’s plan
Last month’s actuals, the sales target, and the gap between them. The unglamorous part of media planning, in order.
I have never opened a blank document and written a media plan. Every plan starts with the month that just closed, because that is the only honest information I have.
First, last month’s actuals
Spend, GMV and ROAS per channel, then the same three per campaign type. I keep it boring on purpose: one tab, one week per row. What I am looking for is not the number itself but the point where it stopped moving. A campaign that held its ROAS while spend grew is a different story from one that only looked good because traffic was cheap that week.
- Spend and GMV by channel, week over week
- ROAS by campaign type, not by campaign name
- Which SKUs carried the month, and which ones only sold at a discount
- Organic versus paid share of orders
Then the target
The sales target almost never comes from marketing. I convert it into weekly GMV, then into the traffic and conversion it implies at last month’s rates. It is arithmetic, not strategy, but it tells me whether the plan I am about to write is a plan or a wish.
Then the gap
The gap is the plan. Everything before it is just reading.
If the target sits fifteen percent above what the current rates produce, I have to say where that fifteen percent comes from: more traffic, better conversion, a bigger basket, or a promo calendar that pulls demand forward. Usually it is a mix, and usually one of them is doing most of the work while the others take the credit.
Only then do I open the plan. It takes an afternoon to read and an hour to write, which is the right ratio.