How I Use the Scientific Method for Marketing my Clients

The Scientific Method in Marketing

So, what does it have to do with marketing? Some people may think that the scientific method only applies to scientific disciplines but this isn’t so. It is just as relevant to marketing as it is to any other branch of science.

By adopting a scientific approach to your marketing campaigns, you can easily uncover possible challenges in your campaign, understand why certain campaigns work (or fail), and predict more accurate results by analyzing relevant metrics.

By applying the underlying principles of the scientific method, you can identify your ideal customers, understand which customer behavior best determines buying intent, learn how to enhance your branding, and so much more.

How is this possible? To better understand the beauty and value of the scientific method as it relates to business and marketing, let me outline the steps involved so you can easily see how it can improve your marketing campaigns and ensure your success.

The Scientific Method: Step-by-Step

If you’re after real data-driven results, consider your campaigns as a science experiment. Basically, here’s how you should go about the process.

• Define the problem. Everything starts with an observation, question, or idea about something that you already know and/or need to know. For example, you want to know where to put the call-to-action button on your landing page for maximum results or pinpoint which ads produce the best ROI. Defining the right question requires careful thought since it can largely affect the outcome so don’t rush it.
• Gather relevant data. Do a thorough background research by gathering information from reputable sources. You can use existing data from official reports and institutional knowledge, observational data (including big data and observations), and experimental data (including results from focus group discussions, survey responses, and passive experimental data).
• Formulate a hypothesis. Using the data collected from the previous step, draw an assumption that may help explain your observations. Aside from generating predictions that can be tested, a good hypothesis should must be easily measurable and should help answer the original question.
• Test the hypothesis. Design suitable experiments and compare the actual results with the existing data. Make multiple tests to confirm the results. When testing more than one factor, don’t change more than one factor at a time.
• Analyze results and draw a conclusion. Analyze and interpret the data from your experiments. Whether or not your results align with your hypothesis, report them and act accordingly. Either way, the results may add to the existing background information about the subject and can be used for further testing.

While some people may find that the scientific approach is rather dry, boring, and rigid, applying it to your marketing campaigns can provide you with the data, numbers, and objectivity you need to enhance the effectiveness of your promotions, increase your ROI, and fuel the growth of the business.