23 March 2020

Test your communication early to achieve the best results

Working out the return on investment of different communication media delivery channels has become increasingly possible due to advances in methods such as econometrics. Email dashboards can shine a light on how many of your emails were opened, when, who by and which links they clicked on and a whole lot more besides.

But trying to work out if the creative ideas that drive media deliverables will have the desired impact remains difficult. Because it’s hard to accurately and objectively measure something that is so inherently subjective. One person’s ‘wow’ will be someone else’s ‘yawn’.

Despite this (according to a survey conducted by Marketing Week), almost two-thirds (61.8%) of marketing communicators are at least trying to measure the effectiveness of their creative ideas.

It may surprise you to know that whilst over 90% of those looking to do so use some kind of retrospective/post-launch measurement loop, only around 40% carry out some form of pre-launch assessment. So less than half as many communication campaigns are tested in advance than are tested after having been designed, developed and delivered. Presumably meaning that more than half of the people behind such communications are ‘hoping for the best’.

Whilst this may well explain some of the more cringeworthy adverts you can remember over the years; it actually compares favourably when compared with the degree of pre-launch assessment that typically happens in the context of pension communications.

At Concert, we back ourselves to know what’s hot and what’s not when it comes to developing creative communications that will help drive member behaviours. But whilst the retirement savings landscape is broadly the same for all, the specific circumstances and history of each plan membership are not. Tailoring the message and the media based on member validation can mean the difference between members ‘getting it’ or ‘forgetting it’.

Additional effort to pilot branding and messaging ahead of going live can help trustees and/or plan sponsors build success into their communication projects – especially if these are intended to promote or support specific member actions.