Whenever you launch a campaign, one of the first questions you’ll be asked is: What’s the ROI going to be? It’s a chicken and egg scenario. The truth is, you can only forecast return on investment by looking at what’s gone before. That’s why post-campaign analysis is so important: it’s the foundation for planning the next one.

From an operations perspective, my role has never been to design the creative, run SEO programmes or manage events. But for many years I’ve worked alongside marketers and sales teams to collate the data that shows what worked, what didn’t, and where the return came from.

We may still be in August, with long evenings and summer holidays in full swing, but now is the time to start preparing for the final quarter of the year. In just a few short weeks, the conversation will shift. As the nights draw in, people will be talking about Christmas parties, festive campaigns, and the winding down of business before the new year. Retail and hospitality are already getting ahead of the game, promoting seasonal offers and end-of-year bookings. Sales and marketing teams should be taking the same approach.

Marketing has never been more complex.

From campaign strategy and brand storytelling to SEO, paid media, data tracking, content operations and funnel experimentation, the modern marketing function is no longer just a creative department. It is a commercially driven, technology-enabled growth engine. Yet the path to senior marketing leadership is still largely shaped by generalist experience rather than operational expertise.

So what does that mean for growing businesses trying to make sense of it all?