When it comes to marketing, I’ve heard many people say they “tried [blank], and it didn’t work.” But most of the time, it seems a marketing channel went untested. Spending $150 on Google ads driving haphazardly chosen searchers to a website’s home page isn’t a fair test. So what constitutes a fair test in marketing? To test anything, you must first define what is being tested. For a new marketing channel, this means framing what it is supposed to accomplish over a given time and budget. The components (time, budget, and accomplishment) must be reasonable. You cannot say make a million dollars in a week with a budget of $0.38. For a new (to you) marketing channel, consider just looking directionally, to see if it will drive ANY sales. But even with that early goal, you’ll have to have a reasonable budget. Starting with a number of minimum impressions is a good way to frame tests for paid media. For example, estimating the cost to reach 10-20k impressions on Facebook will give an idea of the needed budget. If you have no experience making ad creative or setting targeting, keep the accomplishment limited to a direction; did the ad create forward movement. Working with someone who knows what they are doing regarding a given marketing channel may save on the learning curve, but experimenting and optimizing are part of marketing. Organic marketing channels will take longer to test, and expediting those tests may ironically require an advertising and promotional budget….What Is A Fair Marketing Test?