Why Post-Campaign Analysis Matters More Than Ever
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.
Lessons from the early days
When I first moved into sales within radio and print advertising, I quickly saw how essential campaign analysis was. Back then, traditional advertising dominated: newspapers, television, radio, billboards. Everyone knew brand awareness was vital, but measuring it was difficult. The old saying (often misquoted) was: Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half!
In other words, you knew something worked, but pinpointing what was far trickier. ROI conversations focused heavily on direct response campaigns because those were the only ones you could track.
The shift to digital
Today we’re in a very different world. Data is everywhere, and it’s expected. Whether it’s tracked links, cookies, QR codes at events, or unique discount codes linked to specific media, there are multiple ways to measure what’s driving response.
The best campaigns use multiple touchpoints: traditional channels for reach and credibility, digital channels for precision and measurement. That’s why big brands still invest heavily in TV and print, because it works. But now we have the technology to add layers of attribution, weighting, and analysis.
Marketing ops vs revenue ops
When it comes to measuring performance, there are two perspectives.
Marketing operations focuses on impressions, clicks, interactions and leads generated.
Revenue operations looks further down the funnel, opportunities created, pipeline value, and ultimately closed won revenue.
Both matter. But the key is aligning them so we can see how top-of-funnel activity converts into bottom-of-funnel outcomes.
Weighting leads based on seniority or buying influence, tracking website journeys, and attributing pipeline to specific campaigns are just some of the ways to get more accurate reporting.
Stop the blame game
One thing I’ve learnt from working with both sales and marketing teams is that attribution arguments waste energy. It’s not about whether marketing generated the lead or sales closed it. In reality, 99% of closed won opportunities have been touched in some way by both sales and marketing.
The real question should be: how do we shorten the sales cycle?
If your average sales process takes six months but some opportunities are closing in two, look closely at what’s different. Was it the marketing touchpoints, the sales engagement, or a combination of both? That’s where the real value of post-campaign analysis lies.
A final thought
If your sales and marketing teams are still siloed, reporting separately to different leaders, you’ll struggle to get a joined-up view of ROI. More and more organisations are moving towards a Chief Revenue Officer model to bring sales and marketing into alignment. That’s where post-campaign analysis really comes into its own, not just as a backward-looking report, but as a strategic tool for future growth.
Need support in aligning Sales and Marketing Strategy? Get in touch