Advertising

You will know the shape of it. First the site is not good enough, so a theme is bought. Then the photographs are not good enough, so a shoot is booked. Then it needs stronger creative. Ask about sales and the answer is always next month. Eventually the agency goes, but the money went first. The reason is simple: an agency earns a share of your budget, not a share of your profit. Growing the budget suits them. You making money is optional.

• 01The right audience — people who actually want what you sell, instead of shouting at everyone
• 02Honest measurement — sales counted, not clicks, so you can see what a customer really costs you
• 03Your capacity — how far this business can grow on these numbers
• 04The pages the ads land on, fixed so they turn visits into sales
• 05Plain reporting you can read without anyone translating it for you

1. 01AuditYour account, your measurement and the path to purchase, gone through end to end.
2. 02Set upMeasurement put right. You are told at the start which number you will see in week one.
3. 03LearnReal sales data goes back in; which audience, which message, which price — the work finds its own answer.
4. 04DecideOnce the numbers are clear we decide together: scale it, stop it, or fix something else first.